Is C2 cluster ingested by fullerene C60

Abstract The reaction of C 2 cluster addition to fullerene C 60 was studied using time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer with laser desorption (LD). Detailed investigations of metastable peaks in C 60 –C 62 mass region resulted in conclusion that primary adducts with formal C 62 composition, in contradiction to the existed conception, are unstable and decompose back to C 60 via C 2 losing. These adducts are most likely to have unclosed `ball-with-fork' structures, as revealed by quantum-chemical investigations of reaction of C 2 insertion into fullerene C 60 by PM3 method, and into model semi-sphere C 32 H 12 at B3LYP/6-31G* level.