title: Spectromicroscopy of C60and azafullerene C59N: Identifying surface adsorbed water.
abstract: C60fullerene crystals may serve as important catalysts for interstellar organic chemistry. To explore this possibility, the electronic structures of free-standing powders of C60and (C59N)2azafullerenes are characterized using X-ray microscopy with near-edge X-ray adsorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, closely coupled with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This is supported with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements and associated core-level shift DFT calculations. We compare the oxygen 1s spectra from oxygen impurities in C60and C59N, and calculate a range of possible oxidized and hydroxylated structures and associated formation barriers. These results allow us to propose a model for the oxygen present in these samples, notably the importance of water surface adsorption and possible ice formation. Water adsorption on C60crystal surfaces may prove important for astrobiological studies of interstellar amino acid formation.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, Nantes, France.|Physics Department, Gebze Technical University, Gebze, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dogan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erbahar
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Toma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Susi
authors.affiliation: Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, Nantes, France.|Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, UMR 6226 CNRS, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Rocquefelte
authors.affiliation: Chemistry of Interaction Plasma-Surface (ChIPS), University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.affiliation: Chemistry of Interaction Plasma-Surface (ChIPS), University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scardamaglia
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Chemistry, TU Vienna, A-1060 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blaha
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Institute for Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guttmann
authors.affiliation: Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rotas
authors.affiliation: Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tagmatarchis
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Hitchcock
authors.affiliation: Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Chris P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Ewels