Synthesis and characterization of the D5h isomer of the endohedral dimetallofullerene Ce2@C80: two-dimensional circulation of encapsulated metal atoms inside a fullerene cage.

Herein we show the synthesis and characterization of the second known Ce(2)@C(80) isomer. A (13)C NMR spectroscopic study revealed that the structure of the second isomer has D(5h) symmetry. Paramagnetic NMR spectral analysis and theoretical calculation display that the encapsulated Ce atoms circulate two-dimensionally along a band of ten contiguous hexagons inside a D(5h)-C(80) cage, which is in sharp contrast to the three-dimensional circulation of two Ce atoms in an I(h)-C(80) cage. The electronic properties were revealed by means of electrochemical measurements. The D(5h) isomer of Ce(2)@C(80) has a much smaller HOMO-LUMO gap than cluster fullerenes (M(3)N@C(80), M = Sc, Tm, and Lu) with the same D(5h)-C(80) cages. The chemical reactivity was investigated by using disilirane as a chemical probe. The high thermal reactivity toward 1,1,2,2-tetramesityl-1,2-disilirane is consistent with the trends of the redox potentials and the lower LUMO level of the D(5h) isomer of Ce(2)@C(80) compared with that of C(60).