In a feat of precision chemistry, scientists have locked a single hydrogen molecule inside a soccer ball–shaped carbon molecule known as a buckyball, and they have used the technique to make large quantities of the tiny containers.
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Encapsulating gases or metal atoms inside buckyballs or other types of carbon cages can endow the structures with unique electronic properties. Such structures could serve as transistors in molecular-scale electronic devices or as contrast agents for medical imaging, some researchers say. However, previous strategies for trapping tiny things inside carbon cages are inefficient and require extreme conditions.