Buckminsterfullerene. Conceptual computer artwork of buckminsterfullerene or buckyball molecule, a structural form (allotrope) of carbon. The yellow spheres represent carbon (C) atoms that are bonded together as pentagon or hexagon structures. These in turn are connected to form a larger structure. They have been described as soccer and rugby ball- shaped molecules. The first fullerene was discovered in 1985 as a structure consisting of sixty carbon atoms (C60). Since then a family of molecules have been synthesised that range from 36 to 540 carbons.