Abstract
Multi-ionization and fragmentation of fullerenes induced by collisions with ions have been studied in correlation with the energy gain and the number of electrons captured and stabilized by the projectile ion. The method allows us to separate electron capture reactions from transfer ionization processes and to determine the number (r) of active electrons. When one electron is stabilized on the projectile, the target ion is left intact and the energy gain increases with the charge r, which ranges up to The corresponding mean energy gain values for production of through are used together with three different models for the electronic response of ionized in order to deduce semiempirical electron transfer distances for the first four electrons. A model with localized and mobile charges on the surface of the molecule gives a slightly better agreement with earlier measured recoil ion production cross sections than the metal sphere model or an assumption with localized charges kept fixed closest to the projectile during the collisions. The mean energy gain depends on the number of stabilized electrons s. It increases between and 2, then it stays constant, and finally decreases between and 6. The energy distribution for extends to the energy-loss side, which is attributed to close collisions causing a strong electronic excitation of
- Received 28 September 1998
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.59.3562
©1999 American Physical Society