Photo-ionization and fragmentation of Sc3N@C-80 following excitation above the Sc K-edge

: Razib Obaid, Kirsten Schnorr, Thomas J. A. Wolf, Tsukasa Takanashi, Nora G. Kling, Kuno Kooser, Kiyonobu Nagaya, Shin-ichi Wada, Li Fang, Sven Augustin, Daehyun You, Eleanor E. B. Campbell, Hironobu Fukuzawa, Claus P. Schulz, Kiyoshi Ueda, Pascal Lablanquie, Thomas Pfeifer, Edwin Kukk, Nora Berrah

Publisher: AMER INST PHYSICS

: 2019

: Journal of Chemical Physics

: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS

: J CHEM PHYS

: ARTN 104308

: 151

: 10

: 8

: 0021-9606

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5110297

We have investigated the ionization and fragmentation of a metallo-endohedral fullerene, Sc3N@C-80, using ultrashort (10 fs) x-ray pulses. Following selective ionization of a Sc (1s) electron (h nu = 4.55 keV), an Auger cascade leads predominantly to either a vibrationally cold multiply charged parent molecule or multifragmentation of the carbon cage following a phase transition. In contrast to previous studies, no intermediate regime of C-2 evaporation from the carbon cage is observed. A time-delayed, hard x-ray pulse (h nu = 5.0 keV) was used to attempt to probe the electron transfer dynamics between the encapsulated Sc species and the carbon cage. A small but significant change in the intensity of Sc-containing fragment ions and coincidence counts for a delay of 100 fs compared to 0 fs, as well as an increase in the yield of small carbon fragment ions, may be indicative of incomplete charge transfer from the carbon cage on the sub-100 fs time scale.