Photoassisted oxygen doping of C60 films

Abstract

C60 films simultaneously exposed at T = 300 K to oxygen and visible-ultraviolet light are found to exhibit rapid diffusion of oxygen into the deep bulk of the film. The diffusion rate is found to be ∼10 times faster in the presence of light. Vibrational and optical absorption spectroscopy indicate that the photoassisted reaction of O2 with solid C60 involves two coupled reactions: (i) the photoassisted diffusion of molecular oxygen into solid C60 and (ii) oxidation of C60.