Fluorescence spectroscopy and emission lifetimes of Er3+ in ErxSc3-xN@C-80(x=1-3)

We have measured the spectra and lifetimes of the emission near 1.5 mum fro m Er3+ ions within the recently discovered endohedral metallofullerene fami ly ErxSc3-xN@C-80. These molecules consist of a highly symmetric C-80 (Ih) fullerene cage containing a triangular tri-metal nitride group. The measure d emission decay lifetimes, the first reported for ions in endohedral fulle renes, are all in the range 1.1-1.6 s, showing that for the present species the quantum efficiency for emission is similar to 10(-4). High-resolution emission spectra at 1.6 K show sharp features that differ for the Er-1, Er- 2 and Er-3 species and provide information about the structural differences among them. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.