Collisional fragmentation of endohedral fullerenes

The fragmentation patterns of the endohedral fullerenes ions, (Gd@C82)+ and (La@C82)+, produced by energetic collisions with various atomic and molecular targets have been measured over an entire mass range extending from the parent endohedral to the bare metal ion. The fragmentation spectra confirm the endohedral nature of these fullerenes by the production of singly and doubly charged endohedral fragments M@C2n (30 ⩽ n ⩽ 40). The fragmentation pattern includes a substantial component of empty fullerenes that extend from C80 to less than C60 dependent on the collision partner. The empty fullerenes are accompanied by small metal-containing fragment ions, MC2n+ (0 ⩽ n ⩽ 5), produced in hard central collisions with the target atom. The distribution of MC2n+ fragments differs for the two endohedrals and is dependent on the collision partner.