Editing Richard Smalley (section)

===Fullerenes===
Smalley's research in [[physical chemistry]] investigated the formation of inorganic and semiconductor clusters using pulsed molecular beams and time-of-flight [[mass spectrometry]]. As a consequence of this expertise, Robert Curl introduced him to Harry Kroto in order to investigate a question about the constituents of [[Cosmic dust|astronomical dust]].  These are carbon-rich grains expelled by old stars such as [[R Coronae Borealis]]. The result of this collaboration was the discovery of C<sub>60</sub> (known as Buckyballs) and the fullerenes as the third [[allotropy|allotropic]] form of carbon.<ref>{{cite book |last=Edwards |first=Steven A.  |title=The Nanotech Pioneers: Where Are They Taking Us?  |location=Weinheim |publisher=Wiley-VCH |date=2006 |pages=64–66}}</ref>

Smalley recognized that the structure of C<sub>60</sub> was like that of a soccer ball after cutting and tapping hexagons together in a three-dimensional manner, utilizing 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard E. Smalley |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/14078.html |access-date=April 22, 2022 |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref> He was also responsible for the name of C<sub>60</sub>, naming it after Buckminster Fuller, an American architect who was known for his use of geodesic domes in his designs. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buntrock |first=Robert E. |date=September 21, 1998 |title=The Most Beautiful Molecule. The Discovery of the Buckyball. By Hugh Aldersey-Williams. John Wiley & Sons: NY 1995. 340 pp. incl. index. ISBN 0-471-19333-X (Paper) Price: $16.95. |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ci9804239 |journal=Journal of Chemical Information and Computer Sciences |language=en |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=939–940 |doi=10.1021/ci9804239 |issn=0095-2338}}</ref>

The research that earned Kroto, Smalley and Curl the Nobel Prize mostly comprised three articles.  First was the discovery of C<sub>60</sub> in the November 14, 1985, issue of ''Nature'', "C<sub>60</sub>: Buckminsterfullerene".<ref name="C60 publication">{{cite journal|last1=Kroto|first1=H. W.|last2=Heath|first2=J. R.|last3=O'Brien|first3=S. C.|last4=Curl|first4=R. F.|last5=Smalley|first5=R. E.|title=C60: Buckminsterfullerene|journal=Nature|date=November 14, 1985|volume=318|issue=6042|pages=162–163|doi=10.1038/318162a0|bibcode=1985Natur.318..162K|s2cid=4314237}}</ref> The second article detailed the discovery of the [[endohedral fullerenes]] in "Lanthanum Complexes of Spheroidal Carbon Shells" in the ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' (1985).<ref name="Heath">{{cite journal|last1=Heath|first1=J. R.|last2=O'Brien|first2=S. C.|last3=Zhang|first3=Q.|last4=Liu|first4=Y.|last5=Curl|first5=R. F.|last6=Tittel|first6=F. K.|author-link6=Frank K. Tittel|last7=Smalley|first7=R. E.|title=Lanthanum complexes of spheroidal carbon shells|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|date=December 1985|volume=107|issue=25|pages=7779–7780|doi=10.1021/ja00311a102}}</ref>  The third announced the discovery of the fullerenes in "Reactivity of Large Carbon Clusters: Spheroidal Carbon Shells and Their Possible Relevance to the Formation and Morphology of Soot" in the ''Journal of Physical Chemistry'' (1986).<ref name="Zhang">{{cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Q. L.|last2=O'Brien|first2=S. C.|last3=Heath|first3=J. R.|last4=Liu|first4=Y.|last5=Curl|first5=R. F.|last6=Kroto|first6=H. W.|last7=Smalley|first7=R. E.|title=Reactivity of large carbon clusters: spheroidal carbon shells and their possible relevance to the formation and morphology of soot|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry|date=February 1986|volume=90|issue=4|pages=525–528|doi=10.1021/j100276a001}}</ref>

Although only three people can be cited for a Nobel Prize, graduate students [[James R. Heath]], Yuan Liu, and [[Sean C. O'Brien]] participated in the work. Smalley mentioned Heath and O'Brien in his Nobel Lecture. Heath went on to become a professor at the [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech) and O'Brien joined [[Texas Instruments]] and is now at MEMtronics.  Yuan Liu is a Senior Staff Scientist at [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/549395/Richard-E-Smalley|title=Richard E. Smalley|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=October 24, 2023 }}</ref>

This research is significant for the discovery of a new allotrope of carbon known as a [[fullerene]].  Other [[allotropes of carbon]] include [[graphite]], diamond and [[graphene]]. Harry Kroto's 1985 paper entitled "C60: Buckminsterfullerine", published with colleagues J. R. Heath, S. C. O'Brien, R. F. Curl, and R. E. Smalley, was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the [[American Chemical Society]], presented to Rice University in 2015.<ref name="Award"/><ref name="Breakthrough"/> The discovery of fullerenes was recognized in 2010 by the designation of a [[National Historic Chemical Landmarks|National Historic Chemical Landmark]] by the American Chemical Society at the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.<ref name="ChemLandmark"/>