The Ionizations of C60 in the Gas Phase and in Thin Solid Films.

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe high-resolution He I photoelectron spectrum of C60 in the gas phase is reported and compared with the photoelectron spectrum of C60as a thin film prepared by vapor deposition (one to three monolayers) on gold. The spectra show low valence ionization bands that are very sharp and well-separated for a molecule of this size, consistent with the highly symmetric truncated icosahedral structure and theoretical calculations. The total band widths of the valence ionizations from the thin film samples are comparable to those from the gas phase species, showing that the electronic interactions between the molecules and with the surface do not significantly influence these measurements of the molecular electronic structure. The gas phase photoelectron spectra also show vibrational fine structure in the first and second ionization bands with spacings that are consistent with the two totally symmetric vibrational modes of C60. The first vertical ionization energy relative to the vacuum level is determined to be 7.61 ± 0.02 eV from these gas phase measurements.