Chemists have observed a boron buckminsterfullerene for the first time, providing experimental evidence for an 80-atom cage whose existence has been debated since 2007 ( Chem. Sci. 2026, DOI: 10.1039/d6sc02674e).

Buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs, are hollow, soccer ball–shaped molecular cages first discovered in carbon. Their discovery launched a new branch of nanoscience. Boron, carbon’s electron-deficient neighbor in the periodic table, has long been considered a candidate for its own fullerene.

"Boron is known as the rule breaker in chemistry," says Lai-Sheng Wang of Brown University, who led the experimental work. "For 80 atoms to exhibit this structure—I still find it incredible."

First author Hyun Choi produced the boron clusters by vaporizing a boron target with laser light. Argon was mixed into the helium carrier gas to cool and stabilize the clusters. Proper cooling enables B 80 to settle into a single structure.…