Internal structure of C₆₀ fullerence molecules as revealed by low-temperature STM

We have performed Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in ultra-high vacuum at low temperatures (5 and 50K) of unordered and ordered C60 layers adsorbed on a Au(110) surface. STM topographs of the frozen C60 molecules reveal four symmetric patterns within single molecules, which may be associated with different orientations of the fullerenes on a highly corrugated gold substrate. © 1993 Springer-Verlag.