Editing Robert Curl (section)

== Nobel Prize ==
Curl's research at Rice involved the fields of infrared and microwave spectroscopy.<ref name=":1" />  Curl's research inspired Richard Smalley to come to Rice in 1976 with the intention of collaborating with Curl.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|title=Richard E. Smalley, Robert F. Curl, Jr., and Harold W. Kroto|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/richard-smalley-robert-curl-harold-kroto|website=Science History Institute |access-date=21 March 2018|date=June 2016}}</ref>  In 1985, Curl was contacted by Harold Kroto, who wanted to use a laser beam apparatus built by Smalley to simulate and study the formation of [[Polyyne|carbon chains]] in [[red giant]] stars. Smalley and Curl had previously used this apparatus to study [[semiconductor]]s such as [[silicon]] and [[germanium]].<ref name=":1" /> They were initially reluctant to interrupt their experiments on these semiconductor materials to use their apparatus for Kroto's experiments on carbon, but eventually gave in.<ref name=":6" />

They indeed found the long carbon chains they were looking for, but also found an unexpected product that had 60 carbon atoms.<ref name=":6" />  Over the course of 11 days, the team studied and determined its structure and named it [[buckminsterfullerene]] after noting its similarity to the [[geodesic dome]]s for which the architect [[Buckminster Fuller]] was known.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Robert F. Curl Jr—Nobel Laureate in Chemistry|last1 = Shampo|first1 = Marc A.|date = August 2010|journal = Mayo Clinic Proceedings|doi = 10.4065/mcp.2010.0448|last2 = Kyle|first2 = Robert A.|first3 = David P.|last3 = David P.|pmc=2912751|pmid=20704028|volume=85|issue = 8|pages=e58}}</ref> This discovery was based solely on the single prominent peak on the [[Mass spectroscopy|mass spectrograph]], implying a chemically inert substance that was geometrically closed with no [[dangling bond]]s.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|title = Dawn of the fullerenes: experiment and conjecture|last = Curl|first = Robert F.|date = July 1997|journal = Reviews of Modern Physics|doi = 10.1103/RevModPhys.69.691|bibcode=1997RvMP...69..691C|volume=69|issue = 3|pages=691–702}}</ref> Curl was responsible for determining the optimal conditions of the carbon vapor in the apparatus, and examining the spectrograph.<ref name=":1" />  Curl noted that [[James R. Heath]] and [[Sean C. O'Brien]] deserve equal recognition in the work to Smalley and Kroto.<ref name=":4" />  The existence of this type of molecule had earlier been theorized by others, but Curl and his colleagues were at the time unaware of this.  Later experiments confirmed their proposed structure, and the team moved on to synthesize [[endohedral fullerene]]s that had a metal atom inside the hollow carbon shell.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="NobelBio">{{cite web|title=Robert F. Curl Jr. – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1996/curl-bio.html|website=Nobelprize.org|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref><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=14 November 1985|volume=318|issue=6042|pages=162–163|doi=10.1038/318162a0|bibcode=1985Natur.318..162K|s2cid=4314237}}</ref><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.|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><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>  The [[fullerene]]s, a class of molecules of which buckminsterfullerene was the first member discovered, are now considered to have potential applications in [[nanomaterials]] and [[molecular scale electronics]].<ref name=":6" /> Robert Curl's 1985 paper entitled "C60:  Buckminsterfullerine", published with colleagues H. Kroto, J. R. Heath, S. C. O’Brien,  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"/>

After winning the Nobel Prize in 1996, Curl took a quieter path than Smalley, who became an outspoken advocate of nanotechnology, and Kroto, who used his fame to further his interest in science education, saying, "After winning a Nobel, you can either become a scientific pontificator, or you can have some idea for a new science project and you can use your newfound notoriety to get the resources to do it. Or you can say, 'Well, I enjoy what I was doing, and I want to keep doing that.'"<ref name=":2" /> True to that humility, when asked by the President of Rice what he would like, following the Nobel announcement, he asked that a [[Bicycle parking rack|bike rack]] be installed closer to his office and laboratory.<ref name=NatureObit>[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-022-01195-0 Robert F. Curl (1933–2022)], Nature, 17 Aug 2022</ref>