Molecular orientation and phase transitions of DHTAP on Cu(110)

Description

The structure and orientation of 5,14-dihydro-5,7,12,14-tetraazapentacene (DHTAP) layers deposited on Cu(110) was studied using reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS), Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). The evolution of the RDS signal allows to identify the sequential formation of up to three monolayers as well as a phase transition upon completion of the first one. DHTAP molecules in the first monolayer are always lying flat with their long molecular axis aligned parallel to the [-110]-direction of the Cu(110) surface. However, for subsequent layers the orientation critically depends on the deposition temperature T. At T=240K the DHTAP molecules are mostly aligned parallel to the ones in the first layer, whereas at room temperature and above their preferential orientation is along the [001]-direction, i.e., orthogonal to the molecules in the first layer. Finally, the main optical transitions and the orientation of the transition dipole moments of the DHTAP layers were extracted from the RDS spectra (Fig.1) and compared with recent theoretical investigations on individual DHTAP molecules.

Period	29 Aug 2022
Event title	European Conference on Surface Science (ECOSS) 35
Event type	Conference
Location	LuxembourgShow on map