20carbon

20carbon is not the name of a single widely recognized subject. In science and commerce, it is used as a general label for carbon-based entities that involve twenty carbon atoms, and it also appears as a brand or product name in unrelated businesses. The term is encountered most often in discussions of small carbon clusters and nanostructures.

In chemistry, 20-carbon species are abbreviated as C20. The smallest fullerene, C20, refers to a hypothetical or experimentally observed carbon cage consisting of twenty atoms arranged in a dodecahedral geometry with twelve five-membered rings. C20 structures are highly strained and challenging to synthesize or stabilize; they have primarily appeared in theoretical studies and selective gas-phase experiments. In broader research, twenty-carbon fragments may occur as components within larger nanocarbon systems such as fragments of graphene, carbon nanotubes, or polymeric carbon allotropes; these uses are informal and context-dependent.

In branding and industry, "20carbon" has been used as a product name or corporate identifier by unrelated companies; such uses are incidental and do not denote a single, unified organization or standard.

See also: carbon allotropes; fullerenes; C20; nanocarbon. References: none cited.