Electron-impact induced fragmentation of fullerene ions

The C-2 fragmentation of fullerene ions C-60(q+) (q = 1,2, 3) induced by el ectron impact was studied for the first time. The cross sections for the lo ss of a C-2 fragment indicate the presence of two different processes. At l ow electron energies the projectile electron leads to the direct excitation of the giant plasmon resonance. At electron energies larger than 100 eV th e fragmentation of the fullerene ions can be described as an unsuccessful i onization. Only this second part of the cross section shows a dependence on the charge state q of the precursor ion.