Total collision cross sections for C60 scattering by Ar, Kr and Xe

The total cross sections for the interactions of C60 with Ar, Kr and Xe have been measured in a supersonic beam apparatus. The measured scattering cross sections at an average collision velocity of approximately 2.0 × 105 cm/s are 95, 100 and 133 Å2, for Ar, Kr and Xe, respectively. The total cross sections for collisions between Ar and C60 decrease as the collision velocity was increased between 1.4 and 2.4 × 105 cm/s. With the correction for resolution of the apparatus, these measured cross sections compare favorably, both in magnitude and in the way they varied with collision velocity and collision partners, to ‘apparent’ cross sections calculated by assuming the scattering is caused by a −C/r6 potential.