Field Ion-Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Metallofullerenes Adsorbed on the Si(100)2×1 Surface

Abstract

The Sc@C 74 and Sc 2 @C 74 metallofullerenes (MF), adsorbed on the Si(100)2×1 clean surface were successfully studied for the first time by the STM. The STM showed that the MF molecules were imaged to be spherical, quite similar to those of C 60 , C 70 , and C 84 , suggesting that Sc atoms were trapped inside the fullerene cage and that the charge is at least partially delocalized over the sphere of the cage. Statistical analysis of both the diameter and height of MF, compared with those of C 60 , showed that the diameter of the Sc@C 74 and Sc 2 @C 74 cages was 9.5 Å in average, larger than that of the pristine fullerenes.