description Harry Kroto Overview
Harry Kroto was a British chemist who, along with others, received the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of fullerenes, including buckminsterfullerene (C60).
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What did Harry Kroto win the Nobel Prize for?
Harry Kroto shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley. The prize recognized their discovery of fullerenes, including the carbon molecule C60 known as buckminsterfullerene.
Why is C60 called buckminsterfullerene?
C60 has a cage-like structure resembling geodesic domes associated with architect Buckminster Fuller. The molecule contains 60 carbon atoms arranged in a pattern often compared to a soccer ball.
Where did Harry Kroto do his major fullerene work?
Kroto was based at the University of Sussex, while the key C60 experiments were done with Curl and Smalley at Rice University in the United States. Their collaboration connected Kroto's interest in carbon chains in space with laser-vaporization experiments in the lab.
Was Harry Kroto only known for fullerenes?
Fullerenes made him internationally famous, but Kroto also worked on molecular spectroscopy and carbon chemistry. He later became active in science education and public communication before his death in 2016.
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