Observation of highly dispersive bands in pure thin film C 60

While long-theorized, the direct observation of multiple highly dispersive C60 valence bands has eluded researchers for more than two decades due to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Here we report a realization of multiple highly dispersive (330–520 meV) valence bands in pure thin film C60 on a novel substrate—the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3—through the use of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles calculations. The effects of this novel substrate reducing C60 rotational disorder are discussed. Our results provide important considerations for past and future band structure studies as well as the increasingly popular C60 electronic device applications, especially those making use of heterostructures