A Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometric Study of the Laser Desorption Dissociation of C_(60) and C_(70)

1 Introduction C60 and other cage-like carbon molecules, or the fullerenes, have become one ofthe most interesting materials in physics, chemistry and materials science in recentyears. In 1985, C60+ ion was found to be prominent in the laser-ablation mass spec-trum of graphite and unusual stability was proposed for C60 later. The discovery byKratschmer and his co-workers of a method for producing macroscopic.quantities ofC60 and C70 in 1990 has stimulated great interest to investigate the properties of C60and other fullerenes. Many papers have been concerned with the dissociationand stability of C60 and its ions. Studies of C60+ dissociation by means