Atomlike, Hollow-Core–Bound Molecular Orbitals of C₆₀
The research described in this product was performed in part in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The atomic electron orbitals that underlie molecular bonding originate from the central Coulomb potential of the atomic core. We used scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory to explore the relation between the nearly spherical shape and unoccupied electronic structure of buckminsterfullerene (C60) molecules adsorbed on copper surfaces. Besides the known p* antibonding molecular orbitals of the carbon-atom framework, above 3.5 electron volts we found atomlike orbitals bound to the core of the hollow C60 cage. These “superatom” states hybridize like the s and p orbitals of hydrogen and alkali atoms into diatomic molecule-like dimers and free-electron bands of one-dimensional wires and two-dimensional quantum wells in C60 aggregates. We attribute the superatom states to the central potential binding an electron to its screening charge, a property expected for hollow-shell molecules derived from layered materials.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 934626
- Journal Information:
- Science, 320(5874):359-362, Vol. 320, Issue 5874; ISSN 0193-4511
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The Superatom States of Fullerenes and Their Hybridization into the Nearly Free Electron Bands of Fullerites
Superatom orbitals of Sc₃N@C₈₀ and their intermolecular hybridization on Cu(110)-(2x1)-O surface