Entropy-Driven Ball-in-Bowl Assembly of Fullerene and Geodesic Phenylene Bowl

Complexation of C60 at a conical region of a nanometer-sized geodesic phenylene bowl has been demonstrated. Proton NMR spectroscopy showed formation of a 1:1 complex that was driven by entropy gains for the assembly. Crystallographic analyses revealed its unique ball-in-bowl structure, and the presence of smoothly curved surfaces was unveiled at their interfaces.