Metallofullertube: From Tubular Endohedral Structures to Properties

Metallofullertubes are endohedral metallofullerenes with tubular fullerene cage possessing the segment of carbon nanotubes. Metallofullertubes have endohedral metal atom, fullerene cap and nanotube segment. Therefore, it is conceivable that this new kind of molecular materials would bring on many unexpected properties. In recent years, several pioneer metallofullertubes have been successfully reported, such as La₂@D₅(450)-C₁₀₀, Ce₂@D₅(450)-C₁₀₀, Sm₂@D_3d(822)-C₁₀₄. Apart from the great effort to synthesize molecules and determine their structures, the physical and chemical properties of metallofullertubes are still waiting to be explored. In this minireview, we revisit the structures of reported metallofullertubes, and then we highlight their electronic and supramolecular properties. Finally, some perspectives for the development of metallofullertubes are also discussed.