Is C2 cluster ingested by fullerene C60?

The reaction of C2 cluster addition to fullerene C60 was studied using time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer with laser desorption (LD). Detailed investigations of metastable peaks in C60–C62 mass region resulted in conclusion that primary adducts with formal C62 composition, in contradiction to the existed conception, are unstable and decompose back to C60 via C2 losing. These adducts are most likely to have unclosed `ball-with-forkʹ structures, as revealed by quantum-chemical investigations of reaction of C2 insertion into fullerene C60 by PM3 method, and into model semi-sphere C32H12 at B3LYP/6-31G* level.