Controllable restructuring of a metal substrate: Tuning the surface morphology of gold

Organic thin films composed of naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene, a very promising multifunctional polyaromatic hydrocarbon for use in optoelectronic devices, are demonstrated to restructure the pristine Au(111) 22×√3 surface. The perturbation of the herringbone reconstruction was used to gauge the interaction s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surface science 2012-02, Vol.606 (3-4), p.536-541
Main Authors: Iski, Erin V., Jewell, April D., Tierney, Heather L., Kyriakou, Georgios, Sykes, E. Charles H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Company structure
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Gold
Herringbone
Molecular structure
Naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene
Optoelectronic devices
Physics
Reconstruction
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Self-assembled monolayer
Surface chemistry
Surface restructuring
Tuning
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Summary:Organic thin films composed of naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene, a very promising multifunctional polyaromatic hydrocarbon for use in optoelectronic devices, are demonstrated to restructure the pristine Au(111) 22×√3 surface. The perturbation of the herringbone reconstruction was used to gauge the interaction strength of the organic molecule with the substrate through a series of controlled adsorption and annealing treatments. The overall behavior of the system is interpreted as an interplay between thermodynamic and kinetic factors, dictated by the temperature of the sample and the surface coverage of the molecules. The restructuring mechanism involves the exchange of Au atoms from the herringbone reconstruction to the step edges. Our results reveal that the molecular and substrate equilibrium structure is only achieved after annealing the system to >470K. This infers that caution should be taken when organic–metal interfaces are constructed by low or room temperature deposition, as they may not correspond to the equilibrium structures, and therefore, may misrepresent the adlayer structure which exists at the realistic working conditions of devices. ► Naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene, a promising optoelectronics material, was studied on Au. ► The molecule strongly perturbs the herringbone reconstruction of Au(111). ► Reversible Au atom exchange from the herringbone to the step edges is observed. ► Herringbone perturbation is dictated by both thermodynamic and kinetic factors. ► Au(111) restructuring is accompanied by a new equilibrium structure of the adlayer.
ISSN:0039-6028
1879-2758
DOI:10.1016/j.susc.2011.11.028