Five isomers of C60 generated in microwave plasma of chloroform

In addition to Ih symmetry buckminsterfullerene, four other isomers of C60 were generated in a microwave plasma of chloroform. The newly observed isomers, separated and identified by a high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS), were found to be stable at room temperature but transform to buckminsterfullerene when heated. With regards to the generation of various fully chlorinated carbon clusters as well as the C60 isomers, which may be attributed to the rapidly cooling of the synthetic reaction, a modified Pentagon Road scheme is suggested for fullerene formation.