Superasymmetric Fission of Multiply Charged Fullerene Ions

Abstract

The occurrence and the features of a superasymmetric spontaneous decay reaction ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}^{\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}z+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\mathrm{C}}_{58}^{\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(z\ensuremath{-}1)+}+{\mathrm{C}}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}+}$ with $z$ ranging from 3 to 7 are presented. Using isotope-resolved, two-sector-field mass spectrometric techniques it was possible to measure the kinetic energy release and dissociation rate for this reaction in two different time windows after the electron-induced production of the parent ion. The results obtained indicate that this dominant charge separation reaction proceeds via a multistep reaction sequence initiated by unimolecular ${\mathrm{C}}_{2}$ evaporation followed by a charge transfer process from the ion to the neutral fragment leading to the observed Coulombic repulsion.