Molecular Endofullerenes: Nanoscale dipoles, rotors and oscillators
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Bloodworth S
(2018)
Synthesis and Properties of Open Fullerenes Encapsulating Ammonia and Methane.
in Chemphyschem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry
Jarvis S
(2015)
Intermolecular artifacts in probe microscope images of C 60 assemblies
in Physical Review B
Krachmalnicoff A
(2016)
The dipolar endofullerene HF@C60.
in Nature chemistry
Leaf J
(2016)
A Combined Monte Carlo and Hückel Theory Simulation of Orientational Ordering in C 60 Assemblies
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Mamone S
(2016)
Experimental, theoretical and computational investigation of the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of a homonuclear diatomic molecule in a nearly spherical trap: H2@C60.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Mamone S
(2016)
Symmetry-breaking in the H2@C60 endofullerene revealed by inelastic neutron scattering at low temperature.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Xu M
(2019)
The Endofullerene HF@C60: Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectra from Quantum Simulations and Experiment, Validity of the Selection Rule, and Symmetry Breaking.
in The journal of physical chemistry letters
| Description | The key findings resulting from this project thus far are as follows: (i) A detailed understanding of the extent to which quantum mechanics underpins the behaviour of small molecules (HF, H2O, H2) trapped inside fullerenes (i.e. nanoscopic carbon cages); (ii) analysis of the role of the spin state of the encaged molecule on the dielectric properties of a bulk endofullerene sample; (iii) determination of the role that the external environment (e.g. adsorption on a solid surface) has on the encaged molecule. |
| Exploitation Route | Our findings thus far reveal key aspects of how delicate quantum systems can both be protected from, and 'communicate' to, the external world. |
| Sectors | Education,Electronics |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWWyAklkYqM |
| Description | A key non-academic impact is the "Anatomy of a Physics Experiment" series of videos for the Sixty Symbols YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWWyAklkYqM . (Links to the other videos are in the information section at that YT upload). This has reached an audience nearing 100,000 and, if YT metrics can be taken at face value (which is always problematic), has been well-received. We have recently filmed another YT video based on more recent (Jan 2023) beamtime and focussed on measuring the rate at which an electron can escape from inside the cage. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Education,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | How quickly does an encaged electron tunnel free? Combining core-hole clock and NIXSW analysis of endofullerenes |
| Amount | £77,595 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SI31574-1, SI31574-2 |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 02/2023 |
| Description | Probing the dynamics of an incarcerated molecule using temperature-dependent X-ray standing wave measurements: H2O@C60 and D2O@C60 on Ag(111) |
| Amount | £41,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SI23644-1 |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 01/2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with King's College London |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project is a collaborative effort between Nottingham and King's College London, where KCL (Prof. Lev Kantorovich et al.) carries out the theoretical calculations used to support and inform the experimental work at Nottingham. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Density functional theory calculations. |
| Impact | A large number of publications have resulted from the Nottingham-KCL collaboration. These are listed as part of the outputs for each project. The Nottingham-KCL activity has also fed directly into a number of videos for the Sixty Symbols YouTube channel. Again, those outputs are listed for each of the relevant grants. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | Anatomy of a Physics Experiment -- YouTube video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Anatomy of a Physics Experiment" is one of a "triology" of videos made for the Sixty Symbols YouTube channel [1]. At the time of writing, the video has attracted 94,557 views across an international audience. (It should be noted, however, that for YouTube videos, view counts very often do not correlate with quality..!) The video describes X-ray standing wave experiments carried out at the Diamond synchrotron as part of the "Molecular Endofullerenes" project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWWyAklkYqM |