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Although most of the M 2 C 2n -type metallofullerenes (EMFs) tend to form carbide cluster EMFs, we report herein that Lu-containing EMFs Lu 2 C 2n (2n = 82, 84, 86) are actually dimetallofullerenes (di-EMFs), namely, Lu 2 @C s (6)-C 82 , Lu 2 @C 3v (8)-C 82 , Lu 2 @D 2d (23)-C 84 , and Lu 2 @C 2v (9)-C 86 . Unambiguous X-ray results demonstrate the formation of a Lu-Lu single bond between two lutetium ions which transfers four electrons in total to the fullerene cages, thus resulting in a formal divalent state for each Lu ion. Population analysis indicates that each Lu atom formally donates a 5d electron and a 6s electron to the cage with the remaining 6s electron shared with the other Lu atom to form a Lu-Lu single bond so that only four electrons are transferred to the fullerene cages with the formal divalent valence for each lutetium ion. Accordingly, we confirmed both experimentally and theoretically that the dominating formation of di-EMFs is thermodynamically very favorable for Lu 2 C 2n isomers.

Tubular higher fullerenes are prototypes of finite-length end-capped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) whose structures can be accurately characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction crystallography. We present here the isolation and crystallographic characterization of two unprecedented higher fullerenes stabilized by the encapsulation of a La2C2 cluster, namely, La2C2@Cs(574)-C102, which has a perfect tubular cage corresponding to a short (10, 0) zigzag carbon nanotube, and La2C2@C2(816)-C104 which has a defective cage with a pyracylene motif inserting into the cage waist. Both cages provide sufficient spaces for the large La2C2 cluster to adopt a stretched and nearly planar configuration, departing from the common butterfly-like configuration which has been frequently observed in midsized carbide metallofullerenes (e.g., Sc2C2@C80-84), to achieve strong metal-cage interactions. More meaningfully, our crystallographic results demonstrate that the defective cage of C2(816)-C104 is a starting point to form the other three tubular cages known so far, i.e., D5(450)-C100, Cs(574)-C102, and D3d(822)-C104, presenting evidence for the top-down formation mechanism of fullerenes. The fact that only the large La2C2 cluster has been found in giant fullerene cages (C>100) and the small clusters M2C2 (M = Sc, Y, Er, etc.) are present in midsized fullerenes (C80-C86) indicates that geometrical matching between the cluster and the cage, which ensures strong metal-cage interactions, is an important factor controlling the stability of the resultant metallofullerenes, in addition to charge transfer.