Chemspy chemistry news and views

Buckyballs grow by gobbling up carbon - New insights into the formation of some of chemistry's most iconic molecules - the fullerenes - suggest they grow by 'eating' carbon atoms. The study, led by one of the discoverers of buckminsterfullerene (C60), may explain how these football-shaped cage structures form near candle flames and dying stars. Reference: P W Dunk et al, Nat. Commun., 2012, 3, 855 (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1853)