Multishell fullerenes by laser vaporization of composite carbon–metal targets

The extension of the laser vaporization method to composite fullerene-containing carbon targets is reported. High-yield synthesis of the recently discovered multishell fullerenes, which represent a novel variety of carbon nanoclusters, has been achieved. The content of the multishell fullerenes in the deposits may reach up to 90%. The multishell fullerenes such as double-shell C60@C240 or triple-shell C60@C240@C560 are the smallest among other multishell carbon clusters.