ABSTRACT
Clathrates belong to the zeolite family. As mentioned in the
previous chapters, there is a entanglement between empty or
stuffed fullerenes, buckyballs and the clathrate lattices. The clathrate
host structures are based on strong covalent bonds in all three
directions of the space. They can therefore be described as the
result of the covalent packing of cage-like building blocks. Upon
endohedral doping, they become unusual materials presenting
striking properties related to the more and less important coupling
between the host and guest interpenetrated lattices. Contrary to
common networks, the possibility to encage atoms or molecules
opens a newfield. In this way, by their apparent simplicity, clathrates
are the prototype of the elementary zeolite.
