Formations of dumbbell C118 and C119 inside clusters of C60 molecules by collision with α particles

We report highly selective covalent bond modifications in collisions between keV alpha particles and van der Waals clusters of C(60) fullerenes. Surprisingly, C(119)(+) and C(118)(+) are the dominant molecular fusion products. We use molecular dynamics simulations to show that C(59)(+) and C(58)(+)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2013-05, Vol.110 (18), p.185501-185501
Main Authors: Zettergren, H, Rousseau, P, Wang, Y, Seitz, F, Chen, T, Gatchell, M, Alexander, J D, Stockett, M H, Rangama, J, Chesnel, J Y, Capron, M, Poully, J C, Domaracka, A, Méry, A, Maclot, S, Schmidt, H T, Adoui, L, Alcamí, M, Tielens, A G G M, Martín, F, Huber, B A, Cederquist, H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alpha Particles
Cations, Divalent - chemistry
Fullerenes - chemistry
Helium - chemistry
Models, Molecular
Molecular Weight
Monte Carlo Method
Thermodynamics
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Summary:We report highly selective covalent bond modifications in collisions between keV alpha particles and van der Waals clusters of C(60) fullerenes. Surprisingly, C(119)(+) and C(118)(+) are the dominant molecular fusion products. We use molecular dynamics simulations to show that C(59)(+) and C(58)(+) ions--effectively produced in prompt knockout processes with He(2+)--react rapidly with C(60) to form dumbbell C(119)(+) and C(118)(+). Ion impact on molecular clusters in general is expected to lead to efficient secondary reactions of interest for astrophysics. These reactions are different from those induced by photons.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.185501