Fragmentation and Aggregation of Negative Fullerene ions by UV Laser Desorption of Radical Derivatives of C₆₀

We firstly observed the phenomena of fragmentahon and aggregation of fullerenes in laser dcsorption mass spectrometric investigation or radical derivatives of C₆₀ in the negative ion channel. The formation mechanism was mainly attributed to the unique features of the radicals ruptured from the C₆₀ cage, and this may open a new way to synthesize giant fullerenes.