Heterofullerenes

The state of the art in heterofullerene chemistry and physics is reviewed w ith emphasis on azafullerenes. The macroscopic synthetic methods that have been developed for aza[60] fullerene compounds since 1995 have led to a who le new and rich area in the science of fullerenes: cage modification chemis try. The synthetic routes towards aza[60]fullerene and its derivatives are reviewed in Sect. 2. The synthetic routes for aza[70]fullerene and its deri vatives are summarized in Sect. 3. Section 4 comprises the theoretical and experimental work on the physicochemical properties of azafullerene compoun ds. Finally, in Sect. 5, the literature regarding heterofullerenes other th an monoazafullerenes is reviewed.