(Nanocarbons Division Poster Award, 2nd Place) Rare-Earth Families of Metallofullertubes or Metallofullerenes?

In our quest to isolate larger carbon cage fullertubes (e.g., C 90 -C 130 ), we have explored the effect of adding metal atoms to the plasma of an electric-arc reactor. In the extracted metal-containing soot, we observe the typical array of Gd@C 2n , Gd 2 @C 2n , and Gd 3 N@C 2n endohedral metallofullerenes that have been characterized for decades. However, upon addition of aminopropanol to the extracted endohedral soot, we are able to observe interesting metallo-carbon clusters which have not yet experimentally isolated or characterized (i.e. unknown structures). In this presentation, I will discuss our recent findings from 4 rare-earth families of endohedral species (e.g., Er, Gd, Lu, Ho).