Inverse lattice identification of phthalocyanines configuration after adsorption on silver(100) surface

In the work titled Identification of CoPc+F₁₆CuPc chiral domains with the molecular structure factor the results obtained through the cooperation of employees of three institutions: University of Wrocław, Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry PAS, and Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria, have been presented. The paper presents how imaging of the inner structure of a large organic molecule – phthalocyanine – in an inverse lattice enables identification of stacking configurations of this molecule adsorbed on a silver(100) surface. The identification has been made both when Pc molecules are in a two-dimensional dilute molecular gas phase (Fig. 1) as well as when the molecules are engaged in creating a bimolecular superstructure on a silver(100) surface (Fig.2). The formation method of a bimolecular layer composed of CoPc and F16CuPc molecules is presented here as well. The research was performed using projection microscopy of low-energy electron imaging (LEEM) in the diffraction (LEED) and dark field (DF-LEEM) modes. 

Identification of molecular configurations formed on the surface by the molecular layer will enable a controlled creation of active molecular layers with well defined properties for molecular electronics. Molecular layers composed of phthalocyanines are used e.g. in gas sensors or optoelectronic devices, such as, e.g. electroluminescent diodes, field transistors, or solar cells. In such devices the properties of molecular layer-substrate interfaces are significant.