INJECTION OF HELIUM-ATOMS INTO DOUBLY AND TRIPLY CHARGED C60-CATIONS

Results are reported for high-energy beam experiments with C60(2+) and C60(3+) conducted with a four-sector mass spectrometer. Collision-induced dissociation spectra were recorded with helium as the collision gas at kinetic energies of 6, 8, 10, and 16 keV for C60(2+) and 9 keV for C60(3+). The spectra show the loss of C2n fragments and reveal accompanying signals corresponding to the retention of He. Their interpretation indicates that a helium atom has been incorporated into the multiply charged C60 cations in the course of the collisions and so provides additional evidence for the formation of endohedral fullerene compounds.