Surface Ionization Mass Spectrometric Studies of the Li/C60 System

Abstract

Abstract We have studied the Li/C60 system by the surface ionization mass spectrometry. We have investigated a possibility of the Li@C60 formation via the collisions between Li+and C60 − ions in a plasma state, which was predicted by an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The LiC60 complex was unambiguously observed. Our results do not allow direct determination of the LiC60 structure but indicate that Li is inside the C60 cage. We have determined the ionization potential of Li@C60 complex (IP = 5.9 ± 0.1 eV), which agrees well with the calculated value of the IP of Li@C60.