Investigation of fullerene ions in crossed-beams experiments

Abstract Employing the crossed-beams technique, we have studied the interaction of fullerene ions both with electrons and He 2+ -ions. Electron-impact ionization cross sections for C 60 q + ( q =1,2,3) have been measured at electron energies up to 1000 eV. Unusual features in shape and charge state dependence have been found, which are not observed for atomic ions. The evaporative loss of neutral C 2 fragments in collisions with electrons indicates the presence of two different mechanisms. In a first-ever ion–ion crossed-beams experiment involving fullerene ions a cross section of (1.05 ± 0.06) × 10 −15 cm 2 for charge transfer in the collision C 60 +  + He 2+ at 117.2 keV center-of-mass energy has been obtained.