Editing Harry Kroto (section)

===Discovery of buckminsterfullerene===
[[File:C60 Image for Cover cropped 3.png|thumb|Buckminsterfullerene, C60]]
In 1985, on the basis of the Sussex studies and the stellar discoveries, laboratory experiments (with co-workers [[James R. Heath]], Sean C. O'Brien, Yuan Liu, [[Robert Curl]] and [[Richard Smalley]] at Rice University) which simulated the chemical reactions in the atmospheres of the red giant stars demonstrated that stable [[Buckminsterfullerene|C<sub>60</sub> molecules]] could form spontaneously from a condensing carbon vapour.  The co-investigators directed [[laser]]s at graphite and examined the results.<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="ChemLandmark"/><ref name="CHF">{{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> The C<sub>60</sub> molecule is a molecule with the same symmetry pattern as a football, consisting of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons of carbon atoms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/77|title=Architects of the Microcosmos|first=Chris|last=Dean|website=Vega Science Trust}}</ref> Kroto named the molecule buckminsterfullerene, after [[Buckminster Fuller]] who had conceived of the [[geodesic dome]]s, as the dome concept had provided a clue to the likely structure of the new species.<ref name="C60 celestial sphere">{{Cite web|url=http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/65|title=C60, the Celestial Sphere that Fell to Earth|first=Chris|last=Dean|website=Vega Science Trust}}</ref>

In 1985, the C<sub>60</sub> discovery caused Kroto to shift the focus of his research from spectroscopy in order to probe the consequences of the C<sub>60</sub> structural concept (and prove it correct) and to exploit the implications for chemistry and material science.<ref name=DavidIbberson1991>{{cite journal|last1=David|first1=William I. F.|author-link1=William I. F. David|last2=Ibberson|first2=Richard M.|last3=Matthewman|first3=Judy C.|last4=Prassides|first4=Kosmas|last5=Dennis|first5=T. John S.|last6=Hare|first6=Jonathan P.|last7=Kroto|first7=Harold W.|author-link7=Harry Kroto|last8=Taylor|first8=Roger|last9=Walton|first9=David R. M.|title=Crystal structure and bonding of ordered C60|journal=Nature|volume=353|issue=6340|year=1991|pages=147–149|doi=10.1038/353147a0|bibcode=1991Natur.353..147D|s2cid=4345630}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Harold Kroto - Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1996/kroto-bio.html|publisher=Nobel Prize|access-date=3 May 2016}}</ref>

This research is significant for the discovery of a new [[Allotropy|allotrope]] of carbon known as a [[fullerene]].  Other [[allotropes of carbon]] include [[graphite]], diamond and [[graphene]]. Kroto's 1985 paper entitled "C60:  Buckminsterfullerene", 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"/>