Which of the following allotropes of carbon possesses a football-like spherical molecular structure consisting of 60 carbon atoms?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Buckminsterfullerene is a spherical carbon allotrope with the chemical formula C60, structured analogously to a traditional soccer ball using pentagonal and hexagonal rings. Diamond and graphite represent distinct crystalline allotropes with tetrahedral and layered sheet structures respectively, lacking this spherical geometry. Graphene consists of a two-dimensional honeycomb sheet rather than a closed cage molecule. Fullerenes were discovered by Robert Curl, Harold Kroto, and Richard Smalley, earning them the Nobel Prize.