Isolation, structure, and electronic calculations of the heterofullerene salt K₆C₅₉N

Abstract

An intercalation compound of azafullerene, K6C59N, was prepared and structurally characterized. It is isostructural with the fullerene compound K6C60, adopts a body-centered-cubic structure (lattice constant a = 11.31 angstroms), and consists of quasi-spherical monomeric (C69N)6- ions. Density functional calculations of the structural and electronic properties confirm the similarity to K6C60 but also suggest a sizable deformation, principally confined in the vicinity of the nitrogen atom, of both the molecular structure and the electron states. These results show that study of the intercalation chemistry of azafullerene promises to reveal a rich family of both n- and p-doped systems with novel conducting and magnetic properties, like their fullerene antecedents.