The molecule, C-60 was named after the US architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) because of the resemblance of the structure to the geodesic dome, which Fuller invented. The molecules are informally called buckyballs, more formally, the substance itself is also called fullerene.

It is a form of carbon composed of clusters of 60 carbon atoms bonded together in a polyhedral structure composed of pentagons and hexagons.

The substance is a yellow crystalline solid, soluble in benzene.