Then the first experiments were run, and the hopes of scientists were dashed. In 1996, Jacob N. Israelachvili, Fred Wudl, and others at the University of California fond that mixing C 60 molecules with conventional, organic-based lubricants does greatly reduce the friction between the liquid and the surface it flows against. So while buckyballs alone may not provide a good lubricant, they are a good additive. Substituted buckyballs may work as lubricants by themselves. It has been proposed that C 60 F 60 would create the slickest molecular lubricant known to man, much slicker that teflon.
Buckyballs have a wide range of electronic properties, depending on what substituents are attached.
They have been seen as conductors, insulators, semiconductors, and superconductors. C 60 K 3 also represents the first molecular metal that is completely three-dimensional, while previously known superconductors have been primarily linear in structure. The magnetic properties of buckyballs are also interesting. The same compound also works at temperatures higher than any other known magnet except for one. Plans to make batteries from buckeyball cages also exist.