State-of-the-art surface patterning techniques at the molecular level are tedious and time consuming processes. Current technologies such as e-beam and AFM nanolithography are slow, serial processes. Generation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is known to be a fast, parallel process that can be used to cover large surface areas on gold, but usually without distinct patterning. Functionalized fullerenes represent a suitable class of molecules to achieve a bottom-up self assembly of a patterned array. Ideally, the functional groups should control the pattern in three dimensions. To achieve long-range order, non-covalent interactions such as H-bonding and pi-pi stacking (van der Waals forces) must be used. Additionally, covalent bonding (i.e., gold-thiolate) is used to “anchor” the functionalized fullerene to the gold surface. Here we describe recent progress toward the synthesis of these functionalized fullerenes.