Rationalisation of the most stable isomer of a fullerene C n

It is proposed that if each isomeric carbon cage for a given fullerene Cn is constructed such that no five-membered ring contains a double bond, then the most stable isomer is that containing the highest number of benzenoid rings (i.e. those with alternating double and single bonds). Fullerenes in which a high proportion of the hexagonal rings are benzenoid are very stable, e.g. C60, C70, C78, C84 and C90; the method correctly predicts the most stable isomer of C76.