Abstract This article elucidates the importance of model construction in exploring the structural properties of molecules, using the historical example of the discovery of the “buckyball” structure of C60. Three existing methods of constructing the 3D ball-and-stick model of C60 are introduced and rationalized by the scientists' mechanistic exploration of the formation of fullerenes. This article also introduces thought processes in building the carbon cage molecules of the same structural family with the general molecular formula of C60+10n; exemplifications are drawn from the construction method of C70 and C80 ball-and-stick models. Furthermore, this discussion is extended to structural models of fullerenes with even higher molecular symmetry. The method of building the model of C720, which has a particularly large radius and high symmetry, is included here. Combining the “General High School Chemistry Curriculum Standards (2017 version)” and the author's teaching practice, this article discusses the role of structural model construction in chemistry and provides a paradigm for instructions in students' independent construction of fullerene structural models.
XU Shou-Bing. Exploring the Family of Carbon Cage Molecules: Strategies of Building Structural Models for Fullerenes[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2021, 42(5): 89-96.
