Dodecahedrane
Chemical compound / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Dodecahedrane?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Dodecahedrane is a chemical compound, a hydrocarbon with formula C20H20, whose carbon atoms are arranged as the vertices (corners) of a regular dodecahedron. Each carbon is bound to three neighbouring carbon atoms and to a hydrogen atom. This compound is one of the three possible Platonic hydrocarbons, the other two being cubane and tetrahedrane.
![]() | |||
| |||
Names | |||
---|---|---|---|
IUPAC names
(C20-Ih)[5]fullerane hexadecahydro-1,6,5,2,4,3-(epibutane[1,1,2,3,4,4]hexayl)dipentaleno[2,1,6-gha:2′,1′,6′-cde]pentalene | |||
Systematic IUPAC name
undecacyclo[9.9.0.02,9.03,7.04,20.05,18.06,16.08,15.010,14.012,19.013,17]icosane | |||
Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) |
|||
1880116 | |||
ChEBI | |||
ChemSpider |
| ||
1326921 | |||
PubChem CID |
|||
UNII | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
|||
| |||
| |||
Properties | |||
C20H20 | |||
Molar mass | 260.380 g·mol−1 | ||
Melting point | 430±10°C[1] | ||
Related compounds | |||
Related hydrocarbons |
Cubane Tetrahedrane Pagodane (an isomer of dodecahedrane) Prismane | ||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
|
Dodecahedrane does not occur in nature and has no significant uses. It was synthesized by Leo Paquette in 1982, primarily for the "aesthetically pleasing symmetry of the dodecahedral framework".[2]
For many years, dodecahedrane was the simplest real carbon-based molecule with full icosahedral symmetry. Buckminsterfullerene (C60), discovered in 1985, also has the same symmetry, but has three times as many carbons and 50% more atoms overall. The synthesis of the C20 fullerene C20 in 2000, from brominated dodecahedrane,[3] may have demoted C20H20 to second place.