Bastian Kern

IR Absorptions of C60+ and C60– in Neon Matrixes

C60(+) ions were produced by electron-impact ionization of sublimed C60, collimated into an ion beam, turned 90° by an electrostatic deflector to separate them from neutrals, mass filtered by a radio frequency quadrupole, and co-deposited with Ne on a cold 5 K gold-coated sapphire substrate. Infrared absorption spectroscopy revealed the additional presence of C60 and C60(-) in the as-prepared cryogenic matrixes. To change the C60(+)/C60(-) ratio, CCl4 or CO2 electron scavengers were added to the matrix gas. Also taking into account DFT calculations, we have identified nine new previously unpublished IR absorptions of C60(+) and seven of C60(-) in Ne matrixes. Our measurements are in very good agreement with DFT calculations, predicting D5d C60(+) and D3d C60(-) ground states. The new results may be of interest regarding the presence of C60 and C70 (as well as ions thereof) in Space.

C58 on Au(111): A scanning tunneling microscopy study

C58 fullerenes were adsorbed onto room temperature Au(111) surface by low-energy (~6 eV) cluster ion beam deposition under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The topographic and electronic properties of the deposits were monitored by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM at 4.2 K). Topographic images reveal that at low coverages fullerene cages are pinned by point dislocation defects on the herringbone reconstructed gold terraces (as well as by step edges). At intermediate coverages, pinned monomers act as nucleation centres for the formation of oligomeric C58 chains and 2D islands. At the largest coverages studied, the surface becomes covered by 3D interlinked C58 cages. STM topographic images of pinned single adsorbates are essentially featureless. The corresponding local densities of states are consistent with strong cage-substrate interactions. Topographic images of [C58]n oligomers show a stripe-like intensity pattern oriented perpendicular to the axis connecting the cage centers. This striped pattern becomes even more pronounced in maps of the local density of states. As supported by density functional theory, DFT calculations, and also by analogous STM images previously obtained for C60 polymers [M. Nakaya, Y. Kuwahara, M. Aono, and T. Nakayama, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 11, 2829 (2011)], we conclude that these striped orbital patterns are a fingerprint of covalent intercage bonds. For thick C58 films we have derived a bandgap of 1.2 eV from scanning tunnelling spectroscopy data confirming that the outermost C58 layer behaves as a wide band semiconductor.

IR, NIR, and UV Absorption Spectroscopy of C60(2+) and C60(3+) in Neon Matrixes.

C60(2+) and C60(3+) were produced by electron-impact ionization of sublimed C60 and charge-state-selectively codeposited onto a gold mirror substrate held at 5 K together with neon matrix gas containing a few percent of the electron scavengers CO2 or CCl4. This procedure limits charge-changing of the incident fullerene projectiles during matrix isolation. IR, NIR, and UV-vis spectra were then measured. Ten IR absorptions of C60(2+) were identified. C60(3+) was observed to absorb in the NIR region close to the known vibronic bands of C60(+). UV spectra of C60, C60(+), and C60(2+) were almost indistinguishable, consistent with a plasmon-like nature of their UV absorptions. The measurements were supported by DFT and TDDFT calculations, revealing that C60(2+) has a singlet D5d ground state whereas C60(3+) forms a doublet of Ci symmetry. The new results may be of interest regarding the presence of C60(2+) and C60(3+) in space.

15 cm−1 to 12 000 cm−1 spectral coverage without changing optics: Diamond beam splitter adaptation of an FTIR spectrometer

In order to facilitate IR absorption measurements, we have upgraded our Bruker IFS66v/S Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. A synthetic diamond beam splitter without compensator plate and UHV diamond viewports was installed. We have also modified the IR detector chamber to allow measurements with 5 different detectors. As a result we can now obtain FT absorption spectra from 12 000 cm-1 to 15 cm-1 with the same sample held under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, simply by switching between appropriate IR detectors. We demonstrate the performance of the upgraded FTIR spectrometer by presenting measurements of matrix isolated fullerene ions and an adhesive tape.

Photoluminescence Spectroscopy of Mass-Selected Electrosprayed Ions Embedded in Cryogenic Rare-Gas Matrixes

An apparatus is presented which combines nanoelectrospray ionization for isolation of large molecular ions from solution, mass-to-charge ratio selection in gas-phase, low-energy-ion-beam deposition into a (co-condensed) inert gas matrix and UV laser-induced visible-region photoluminescence (PL) of the matrix isolated ions. Performance is tested by depositing three different types of lanthanoid diketonate cations including also a dissociation product species not directly accessible by chemical synthesis. For these strongly photoluminescent ions, accumulation of some femto- to picomoles in a neon matrix (over a time scale of tens of minutes to several hours) is sufficient to obtain well-resolved dispersed emission spectra. We have ruled out contributions to these spectra due to charge neutralization or fragmentation during deposition by also acquiring photoluminescence spectra of the same ionic species in the gas phase.

Near-IR Photoluminescence of C60+

We have observed that C60+ ions isolated in cryogenic matrices show distinct near-IR photoluminescence upon excitation in the near-IR range. By contrast, UV photoexcitation does not lead to measurable luminescence. Near-IR C60+ photoluminescence is a one-photon process. The emission is mainly concentrated in one band and corresponds to 2A1u ← 2E1g relaxation. We present experimental data for the Stokes shift, power, and temperature dependencies as well as the quantum efficiency of the photoluminescence. Our findings may be relevant for astronomy, considering recent unequivocal assignment of five diffuse interstellar bands to near-IR absorption bands of C60+.

Toward laser-induced vibrational emission spectroscopy of C+60

C+60 has been proposed to be responsible for two of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), the absorption features observed in the visible-to-near-infrared spectra of the interstellar medium. However, a confirmation requires laboratory gas-phase spectra, which are so far not available. We plan to develop a novel spectroscopy technique that will allow us to obtain the first gas-phase spectra of C+60, and that will be applicable to other complex organic molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The current status of the experimental setup, the ideas behind the measurement scheme and the preparatory work toward its implementation will be presented.