C60 DECOMPOSITION ON SOME TRANSITION METAL AND SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACES

Abstract

A deep understanding of fullerene-surface interaction regularities is a key to widespread fullerene use. We have studied C60 molecular adsorption, thermal transformation and initial film growth stages on four transition metals: W, Mo, Re and Ir in the wide temperature range 300–2000K. Experiments were performed in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at P < 10−9 Torr by high resolution Auger electron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and thermal desorption mass-spectrometry using an absolutely calibrated flux of the depositing C60 molecules.