| STRUCTURE |
Cyclohexamantane (C26H30)--a molecule that can be thought of as a nanoscale diamond of approximately 10–21 carats--has been isolated from petroleum and structurally characterized for the first time. Cyclohexamantane is one of more than 20 higher diamondoids (C22 and higher) that authors have isolated. Diamondoids are molecules whose carbon framework is a chip off the old diamond lattice. C26H30 is special among diamondoids because it contains internal (quaternary) carbon atoms. Chemists have so far been unable to synthesize any of the higher diamondoids. But if these cages are ever synthesized, they might serve as ideal building blocks for nanotechnology. In the C26H30 structure shown, colors denote groups of hydrogens that have a similar NMR chemical shift.
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