Hydrogenation of carbon fragments after femtosecond laser ablation of solid C60

We have observed several kinds of hydrocarbon cations after the nanosecond and the femtosecond laser ablation (nsLA and fsLA) of solid C60. The observation indicates that the carbon fragments produced just after laser ablation of the C60 molecule react with the hydrogen atoms and ions coexisting in the ablation plume. In the case of fsLA, clear dependence of the product hydrocarbon species on the ablation laser power has been observed although the dependence is not clearly observed in nsLA. The production of CnH5+ (n = 8, 10, and 12) is only observed in fsLA suggesting the unique nature of the transient carbon fragments produced by fsLA.