Metal atom catalyzed enlargement of fullerenes.

A metal catalyzed enlargement of fullerenes has been demonstrated by in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was found that carbon atoms and clusters can be continuously incorporated into a closed fullerene cage at a high temperature, leading to an increase in the diameter and consequently the formation of giant fullerene with the assist of adsorbed metal atoms. Density functional theoretical simulations indeed suggest that the activation energy for the carbon incorporation and the associated Stone-Wales transformation can be substantially reduced due to the presence of metal atoms, which should be of key importance for the fullerene growth.