Which carbon allotrope is composed of spherical molecules containing 60 carbon atoms arranged in pentagons and hexagons, resembling a football?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Buckminsterfullerene, commonly known as C60, is a unique allotrope of carbon composed of sixty carbon atoms linked together in a polyhedral structure containing pentagons and hexagons, strikingly similar to a football. Unlike graphite or diamond which form extended lattices or covalent networks, fullerenes consist of discrete closed cage molecules. Carbon nanotubes form cylindrical structures instead of spherical molecules.