Formation of Cobalt−C60 Clusters: Tricapped Co(C60)3 Unit

Cobalt (Co)−C 60 mixed clusters were produced by the combination of laser vaporization and molecular beam methods. Cationic Co n (C 60 ) m + clusters were produced predominantly with the compositions ( n, m ) = (0−1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (2−4, 4), and (5, 5). Both mass spectrometry and a chemical probe method have revealed that compositions of (1, 3) and (4, 4) correspond to a tricapped planar structure and a tricapped trigonal pyramid structure, respectively, in which each Co atom is surrounded by three C 60 .