Donald R. Huffman | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Known for | Buckminsterfullerene |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemist |
Institutions | University of Arizona |
Donald R. Huffman (born 1935) is a Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Arizona.[1] With Wolfgang Krätschmer, he developed a technique in 1990 for the simple production of large quantities of C60, or Buckminsterfullerene.[2][3][4] Previously, in 1982~1983, he and Krätschmer had found, in a UV spectrum, the first signal of C60 ever observed.[5]
Huffman was featured prominently in "Race to Catch a Buckyball", a 1995 episode of the Nova documentary series.[6]
Only in 1990 were physicists Donald Huffman and Wolfgang Krätschmer able to produce gram-sized quantities of C60 using a method that could be quickly and inexpensively duplicated in any laboratory. This made it possible to apply the whole battery of structural determination methods and show that C60 really had the structure its discoverers had hypothesized.