Organic molecules at metal surfaces: the role of functional groups in self-assembly and charge transfer

The understanding of the interaction of organic molecules with metal surfaces is crucial for tailoring the desired properties of future devices that can be employed for molecular electronics or biomedical applications. Self-assembly of complex supramolecular structures and charge transfer through molecular films or even through single molecules are some of the properties that have recently attracted much interest both for possible applications and for more fundamental studies. The molecule-surface interaction takes place thanks to the functional groups that constitute the molecule. The choice of appropriate functional groups of the molecules allows their use as building blocks in the fabrication of complicate architectures [1]. In fact, the functional entities can influence molecule-molecule and molecule-surface interactions, governing the self-assembly of the molecules on the surface. In particular, in the thesis I will report on the characterization by means of Helium Atom Scattering (HAS), X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS), Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) of the self-assembly in ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions of L-methionine molecules on different metal substrates (Ag(111), Cu(111), Au(111), Au(110)). L-methionine is an amino acid with three functional groups which can interact with the substrate or with other molecules: the amino (-NH2), the carboxyl (-COOH) and the thioether (-S-). Moreover, the first two can change their charge state in a protonated amino group (-NH+ 3 ) and a deprotonated carboxyl group (-COO?): the molecules are called zwitterionic and it is allowed the formation of hydrogen bonds between them. Hydrogen bonding between zwitterionic molecules is responsible for the crystallization in the solid state. In the thesis I have studied how, depending on the choice of the substrate and the growth conditions, L-methionine molecules form assemblies with different morphologies and different chemical states of the building blocks. L-methionine molecules deposited on Ag(111) and Au(111) are in the zwitterionic state and interact strongly via hydrogen bonding forming dimers of molecules. The weak interaction with the substrate allows the organization of these dimers in extended bidimensional nanogratings composed of chains of length extending in the micrometer range and with tunable periodicity across the chains. At temperatures below 270K, L-methionine on Cu(111) forms short aggregates of zwitterionic dimers. By increasing the substrate temperature above 300K the charge state of the amino group changes and also the interaction with the surface. Molecules are anionic (-NH2 and -COO?) and form again charged nanogratings. The anionic state of the molecules can also be obtained on the Au(110) surface, where the interaction of the amino and thioether groups with the gold inhibits the formation of zwitterionic dimers via hydrogen bonding. The functional groups in the molecules can also influence their transport properties. The final goal of miniaturization in molecular electronics research is the formation and characterization of a nanoelectronic device in which a molecule between two electrodes plays the role of an active conducting element. In such a device the interaction between the functional groups anchoring the molecule to the electrodes and the electrodes is a crucial element in order to understand and control the conduction. Recent STM-break junction experiments [2] have shown that Au-molecule-Au contacts with amino (- NH2) terminated molecules are better defined than Au-molecule-Au contacts formed with thiol (-SH) terminated molecules [3]. The strong interaction of thiols with gold surfaces is well known in literature and the self-assembly of thiolated molecules is widely employed in many applications. In contrast, the weak interaction of amino terminated molecules with gold is poorly studied. Theoretical calculations suggest that the amine lone pair is responsible for bonding and that it prefers to bind to undercoordinated gold atoms. Within this framework, in the thesis I report on the study of growth of thin films of 1,4-benzenediamine and p-toluidine on two different Au surfaces, where the atoms present different coordination: Au(111) and Au(110). Both molecules interact more strongly with the low coordination (110) surface. By means of Resonant Photoemission Spectroscopy (RPES) it has been possible to disentangle molecular orbitals and determine the ones involved in the charge transfer at the surface. In both cases the charge transfer involves states localized also on the nitrogen atoms indicating a possible interaction of the molecule with the surface through nitrogen atoms. I also studied the assembly of three benzene substituted diamines on Au(111). These results complement very well the results obtained from conduction experiments of different amine-terminated molecules and combined with theoretical investigations can help understanding the basics of the molecular charge transport mechanism. [1] Barth J.V., Costantini G., Kern K., Nature, 437 (2005) 671 [2] Venkataraman L., Klare J. E., Nuckolls C., Hybertsen M. S., Steigerwald M. L., Nature, 442 (7105), 904 (2006) [3] Schreiber F., Progress in Surface Science, 65 (5-8) (2000) 151