Derivatives and dimers of C50- D 5 h and C50- D 3: A comparison of two closely related but quite differently behaving fullerenes

A density functional theory study on the reactivity of the energetically most stable C50 isomers, C50-D5h and C50-D3, is presented. We explore the reactivity of both fullerenes towards the addition of hydrogen and halogen atoms and towards the formation of dimers. The addition patterns of the derivatives C50X2n (X = H, F, Cl) that are preferably formed after the saturation of the most reactive sites are investigated as well. The study reveals that while the results for C50-D5h are in agreement with simple empirical rules, C50-D3 does not show the expected behaviour.