Raman Scattering in Fullerenes

Since the discovery in 1990 of a relatively simple arc method to synthesize gram quantities of carbon cage molecules (fullerenes), considerable research effort has been expended to understand the molecular and solid-state properties of fullerenes and fullerene-derived materials. Raman scattering has played an important role in this effort which has focused on the fullerene C60, and to a lesser extent C70. From Raman spectra and their comparison with model andab initiocalculations, fundamental questions regarding the intramolecular bonds, the structure and properties of crystalline, fullerene-derived solids, including the superconducting K3C60 and Rb3C60 compounds, have been addressed and largely understood. Raman scattering has also been used to probe pressure- and temperature-driven phase transitions and the photopolymerization of fullerenes in the solid state, in addition to the bonding of fullerene molecules to metal substrates. In this review the highlights of this Raman scattering research are discussed. Brief introductory remarks concerning the discovery and structure of fullerenes are also given.