Abstract
We have investigated the ionization and fragmentation of a metallo-endohedral fullerene, Sc3N@C80 using ultrashort (10 fs) x-ray pulses. Following selective ionization of a Sc (1s) electron (h ν = 4.55 keV), an Auger cascade leads predominantly to either a vibrationally cold multiply charged parent molecule or multi-fragmentation of the carbon cage following a phase transition. In contrast to previous studies, no intermediate regime of C2 evaporation from the carbon cage is observed. A time-delayed, hard x-ray pulse (h ν = 5.0 keV) was used to attempt to probe the electron transfer dynamics between the encapsulated Sc species and the carbon cage. A small but significant change in the intensity of Sc-containing fragment ions and coincidence counts for a delay of 100 fs compared to 0 fs, as well as an increase in the yield of small carbon fragment ions, may be indicative of incomplete charge transfer from the carbon cage on the sub-100 fs timescale.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 104308 |
Journal | The Journal of Chemical Physics |
Volume | 151 |
Issue number | 10 |
Early online date | 13 Sep 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 13 Sep 2019 |