Nitrogen additions make buckyballs strong and springy. (Materials Science/R&D).

Researchers at the University of Linkoping in Sweden have reportedly added nitrogen to buckyballs and made them strong and springy. Buckminster fullerenes are soccer-ball shaped carbon molecules containing 60 carbon atoms. The solid material formed by pure carbon buckyballs is weak and brittle, but by replacing 12 of the carbon atoms with nitrogen, the spherical cages are said to acquire strength and elasticity. By means of magnetron sputter deposition, it has been possible to replace up to 12 carbon atoms with 12 nitrogen atoms. The researchers dub their new product "carbon ...