Electron diffraction from fullerenes in angle and momentum

Accessing structural information of target systems is one primary objective of scattering studies. The differential cross-section in real (angular) space is a quantity routinely analyzed in electron diffraction [1] measurements, including in crystallography. However, it is also possible to capture diffraction effects in the momentum space at a given angle. Consequently, a combined 2D diffraction image, diffractogram, can be constructed which may lead to extended scope and information beyond conventional techniques. This idea is demonstrated for the electron scattering from a C₆₀ molecule, a symmetric allotrope of carbon. The advantage of momentum scan is that as the momentum increases, the corresponding electron wavelength shortens to resolve finer structures of the target. Modeling of the C₆₀ scattering center is done using: (i) a jellium-based density functional theory within local density approximation [2] and (ii) a static annular square well model potential [3]. A non-relativistic partial wave method describes the scattering process, while the Born approximation is used to interpret the results.

Funding: CRG/2022/000191, India (J.J.) and DST-SERB-CRG Project No. CRG/2022/002309, India (H.R.V), and by the US National Science Foundation Grant No. PHY-2110318 (H.S.C.).



References

[1] A. Saha, S.S. Nia, and J.A. Rodríguez, Chem. Rev. 122, 13883 (2022).

[2] Madjet et al., J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 41, 1-8 (2008).

[3] Dolmatov et al., J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 47, 1-6 (2014).