<font>C</font>₂-LOSS FRAGMENTATION OF HIGHER FULLERENES AND METALLOFULLERENES

Abstract

Photofragmentation investigations were performed by using chromatographically isolated pure samples of higher fullerenes and metallofullerenes. Quite similar distributions of fragments were commonly observed for five different fullerenes, and this fact supports the presence of a “scrambled-cage” structure in a highly excited fullerene cage. An enhancement of the C 60 and C 70 signals was also observed as a result of “delayed C 2 -loss” fragmentation within a time scale of about 60 µs after photoexcitation. Photodissociation study of mono- and di-metallofullerenes revealed the qualitative difference in the fragment distributions between them, suggesting that LaC 82 would possess an endohedral, and Sc 2 C 84 an exohedral, form.