Pseudorotation in fullerene anions

Jahn-Teller (JT) problems are often characterised by an adiabatic potential energy surface (APES) containing either a set of isoenergetic wells or a trough of equivalent-energy points, which may be warped by higher-order coupling terms or anisotropic effects. In all three cases, the JT effect will be dynamic. Either tunnelling between the wells or rotation (of a distortion) around the trough will restore the original symmetry of the system. This motion is referred to as pseudorotation. It should be possible to observe a JT system in a distorted geometry if measurements are made on a sufficiently short timescale. In various cubic systems, this timescale has been calculated to be the order of picoseconds. Such timescales are accessible using modern methods of ultrafast spectroscopy. Measurements of pseudorotation rates can lead to important information on the strength and nature of the JT coupling present. l present analytical calculations that allow the rate of pseudorotation to be determined in terms of the vibronic coupling parameters. We will show how these results can be applied to E ⊗ e systems and then to the more complicated system applicable to C 60 - anions. This is of particular interest because of the high icosahedral symmetry of fullerene ions and also because of the many potential uses of materials containing these ions. We conclude by outlining experiments that should be capable of measuring pseudorotation in C60 anions.