Electronic structure, conductivity and superconductivity of metal doped C60

The curvature and topology required for fullerene formation strongly enhances the electronegativity of the carbon clusters and as a result C60 readily accepts electrons. Solid C60 undergoes doping with a variety of metals to produce intercalation compounds which are conductors. In the case of the alkali metals the predominant phases present are: C60, A3C60, and A6C60. The A3C60 compounds are formed from C60 by occupancy of the interstitial sites of the fcc lattice. These phases constitute the first 3-dimensional organic conductors and for A=K, Rb the A3C60 compounds are superconductors with transition temperatures of Tc=19 and 28K, respectively. There is evidence to suggest that the superconductivity in these systems is driven by the intramolecular vibrations of the reduced C60 molecule. Recent experiments on a variety of metal doped C60 thin films will be presented