Database/Antimicrobial/Fullerenes
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Fullerenes natural?

No. Fullerenes are lab-synthesised from graphite vaporisation or hydrocarbon combustion soot; there is no commercial natural extraction route.

INCI nameFullerenes
CAS99685-96-8
FormulaC60 · 720.6 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockManufactured by vaporising graphite electrodes in an electric…

How we scored it

Engineered carbon-cage nanomaterial made by arc-discharge graphite vaporisation or hydrocarbon-combustion synthesis; treated as synthetic by this site's convention (parallel to silicones) — 0/720.6 = 0.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Manufactured by vaporising graphite electrodes in an electric arc or by combusting hydrocarbon fuel under controlled low-oxygen conditions, then purifying the C60 cage molecules. No natural feedstock is used commercially.

In plain English

An engineered carbon molecule shaped like a hollow cage, made in a lab from vaporised graphite or combustion soot. Used in small amounts in some anti-ageing and antimicrobial skincare products.

CosIng definition: Fullerenes is a class of carbon molecules characterized by an icosohedron structure.

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Structure

2D structure of Fullerenes

(C60-Ih)[5,6]fullerene

PubChem CID 123591 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Fullerenes. PubChem CID 123591. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3FULLERENES. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4FULLERENES. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=FULLERENES