(Endo)Fullerenes: From Production to Isolation

After a short introduction setting up the history of the C₆₀ discovery from E. Osawa's predictions in the 1970s to H. W. Kroto, R. E. Smalley, R. F. Curl's discovery and Nobel prize in 1996, details are given on the different production methods. Starting from the well-known “Krätschmer–Huffman” arc-discharge method that not only provided practical evidence of the 1985 discovery – and the soccer-ball shape – but also essentially created a new field of scientific study, the chapter details both the combustion process and the chemical synthesis approaches such as pyrolytic dehydro(halo)genation or surface-catalysed cyclodehydrogenation. Emphasis is then given to the isolation and purification techniques of empty fullerenes from C₆₀ to C₈₄. Finally, the production methods of endohedrals are listed.