# Charge transfer dynamics in noble gas endofullerenes: intra- and extramolecular tunnelling

## TL;DR

This paper studies how electrons move within and between noble gas atoms trapped inside fullerenes using advanced spectroscopy techniques.

## Contribution

The study reveals the dynamic Jahn–Teller effect in endofullerenes and compares tunnelling and core-level spectroscopy insights.

## Key findings

- Encapsulated noble gas atoms are largely invisible in tunnelling spectroscopy.
- The LUMO lineshape in tunnelling spectra is attributed to the dynamic Jahn–Teller effect.
- Core-level techniques show strong coupling between the noble gas and the molecular environment.

## Abstract

Core-level and tunnelling spectroscopies applied to noble gas endofullerenes offer complementary insights into electron transfer rates, addressing both intramolecular and extramolecular processes. Elastic and inelastic tunnelling spectroscopy of empty C60 and Kr@C60 on Pb/Cu(111) each show that the encapsulated atom is essentially invisible to scanning probes. We interpret the lineshape of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of Pb-adsorbed (endo)fullerenes in tunnelling spectra as a signature of the dynamic Jahn–Teller (DJ–T) effect. This effect persists in electronically decoupled second-layer molecules, which also display distinct vibronic progressions in on-resonance tunnelling. DFT calculations reproduce the LUMO alignment and low density of states at the Fermi level seen in experimental tunnelling spectra for (endo)fullerenes on Pb, and, in line with submolecular resolution STM images, also predict that an atom-down orientation of the fullerene cage is energetically most favourable (although other adsorption geometries differ only by tens of meV at most). In contrast to the tunnelling data, core-level-focussed techniques – namely, photoemission, X-ray absorption, and resonant Auger–Meitner electron spectroscopy – of Ar@C60/Pb(111) indicate that the encapsulated atom is heavily coupled to the molecular environment, with both a clear influence of substrate screening on the core-level lineshape and the absence of spectator signal in decay spectra.

Core-level and tunnelling spectroscopies applied to noble gas endofullerenes offer complementary insights into electron transfer rates, addressing both intramolecular and extramolecular processes.