Buckyball

Fullerenes, also known as buckyballs, are special molecules that are made up entirely of carbon. Sixty carbon atoms form twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, which are connected in the same pattern you find on a football. In other words, they form a hollow molecular football!

Buckyballs are superconductive, which makes these molecular footballs an excellent material for developing a new generation of solar cells. Buckyballs can replace rigid and expensive materials such as silicon. This will enable solar cells to become smaller, cheaper and more flexible in the future.