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Title: Confirmation of a vanishingly small ring-current magnetic susceptibility of icosahedral C sub 60

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/j100162a004· OSTI ID:6018008
; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. IBM Research Div, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles (United States)

In 1987 Elser and Haddon predicted a vanishingly small {pi}-electron contribution to the magnetic susceptibility of the icosahedral C{sub 60} molecule (buckminsterfullerene). This result runs counter to intuition and was subsequently disputed on the basis of ab initio computations. Following the recent discovery of method for preparing (and purifying) large quantities of C{sub 60}, the authors here report measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, {chi}, of a solid sample of pure C{sub 60} by SQUID magnetometry. The obtained mass value, {chi}{sub g} = {minus}0.35 {times} 10{sup {minus}6}, is far below that of graphite or benzene, consistent with the Elser-Haddon picture of accidental cancellation of the diamagnetic and paramagnetic contributions to {chi}. An estimate of the unusually large paramagnetic contribution is in accord with recent measurements of C{sub 60}'s electronic excitations. The C{sub 70} molecule is also measured to have {chi}{sub g} = {minus}(0.59 {plus minus} 0.05) {times} 10{sup {minus}6}.

OSTI ID:
6018008
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry; (United States), Vol. 95:9; ISSN 0022-3654
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English