Charge transfer dynamics in noble gas endofullerenes: intra- and extramolecular tunnelling

Abstract

Core-level and tunnelling spectroscopies applied to noble gas endofullerenes offer complementary insights into electron transfer rates, addressing both intramolecular and extramolecular processes. Elastic and inelastic tunnelling spectroscopy of empty C₆₀ and Kr@C₆₀ on Pb/Cu(111) each show that the encapsulated atom is essentially invisible to scanning probes. We interpret the lineshape of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of Pb-adsorbed (endo)fullerenes in tunnelling spectra as a signature of the dynamic Jahn–Teller (DJ–T) effect. This effect persists in electronically decoupled second-layer molecules, which also display distinct vibronic progressions in on-resonance tunnelling. DFT calculations reproduce the LUMO alignment and low density of states at the Fermi level seen in experimental tunnelling spectra for (endo)fullerenes on Pb, and, in line with submolecular resolution STM images, also predict that an atom-down orientation of the fullerene cage is energetically most favourable (although other adsorption geometries differ only by tens of meV at most). In contrast to the tunnelling data, core-level-focussed techniques – namely, photoemission, X-ray absorption, and resonant Auger–Meitner electron spectroscopy – of Ar@C₆₀/Pb(111) indicate that the encapsulated atom is heavily coupled to the molecular environment, with both a clear influence of substrate screening on the core-level lineshape and the absence of spectator signal in decay spectra.