Buckminsterfullerene (C-60)
This substance is naturally occurring in Shungite (a rock type), although it was discovered accidentally as a byproduct of another process in a lab.
Each fullerene molecule is tiny – only 7 angstroms across.
The structure of fullerene is that of a truncated icosahedron, the same shape as a soccer ball.
Because of the strong resonance structure and spherical shape, C-60 is a very strongly bound compound.
C-60 traditionally becomes a semiconductor around 14 K, but this temperature can be increased dramatically (by a factor of 2) with the addition of certain dopants to the structure.
C-60 can also be used to create carbon nanotubes, which are very strong filaments with many practical applications, such as in composites, in optics, and in medicine.

My work with C-60:
There is a process that has been given some attention in the past few decades known as “channeling.” When a crystal lattice is bombarded by heavy atoms, the atoms are ionized on impact (the high electron density in the lattice acts as if it were a Lindhard electron gas). If these ions are traveling in a certain direction in the lattice, they may go very long distances without running into any of the lattice ions. In fact, due to the repulsion of the nuclei, the projectile ion may become stuck in this “channel.” This effect was discovered by a theorist rather than an experimentalist, when he was trying to figure out what made some ions in his program go unnaturally long distances.
Now, consider the results that would aspire should a C-60 molecule, rather than a single atom, enter the crystal. All of the atoms ionize, and have strong columbic repulsion. However, not only are they interacting with each other, but the electrons have some canceling effect on the force of this, the lattice ions add forces in other directions, and a multitude of other interactions between the electrons, the lattice ions, and the projectile ions take place. The crystals used in this experiment are Yittrium Iron Garnet (Y3Fe5O12) and Éø-Quartz (SiO2).
Results indicate that in larger, low-index directions the channeling of the projectile carbons is significant, whereas in tighter, higher-index directions the material acts as an amorphous material would, resulting in very little channeling.