Anomalous character of the interaction of C60 molecules with the sulfur-saturated Ta(100) surface

It is shown that, contrary to all previously studied systems, heating to ∼800 K in the C₆₀− TaS² monolayer-Ta(100) adsorption system leads to the complete removal of the deposited fullerene molecules. A model is proposed that explains the observed phenomenon by a very weak nonchemisorption interaction between the C₆₀ molecules and the valence-saturated surface of tantalum disulfide that forms layered crystals with van der Waals interaction between layers.