Single-size thermometric measurements on a size distribution of neutral fullerenes
C. Cauchy, J. M. Bakker, Y. Huismans, A. Rouzée, B. Redlich, A. F. G. van der Meer, C. Bordas, M. J. J. Vrakking, and F. Lépine
Accepted
We present measurements of the velocity distribution of electrons emitted from massselected neutral fullerenes, performed at the intra-cavity free electron laser FELICE. We make use of mass-specific vibrational resonances in the infrared domain to selectively heat up one out of a distribution of several fullerene species. Efficient energy redistribution leads to decay via thermionic emission. Time-resolved electron kinetic energy distributions measured give information on the decay rate of the selected fullerene. This method is generally applicable to all neutral species that exhibit thermionic emission and provides a unique tool to study the stability of mass-selected neutral clusters and molecules that are only available as part of a size distribution.