ICOSAHEDRAL C-60 REVISITED - AN AROMATIC MOLECULE WITH A VANISHINGLY SMALL RING CURRENT MAGNETIC-SUSCEPTIBILITY - COMMENT

In a previous publication we conclude that: "Although planar aromatic hydrocarbons and graphite have provided appropriate points of analogy for the π-electron energy structure of C60, it is clear that the magnetic response of C60 is unlike that of any other molecule yet encountered". In a recent Letter, Fowler, Lazzeretti and Zanasi (FLZ), report ab initio calculations on the magnetic susceptibility of icosahedral C60. FLZ conclude that C60 possesses "... the strong diamagnetism expected of an aromatic system". The validity of this conclusion is addressed in the present note and it is shown that magnetic susceptibility of C60 is incompatible with its description as a normal aromatic molecule. © 1990.