When the Grafting of Double Decker Phthalocyanines on Si(100)-2 × 1 Partly Affects the Molecular Electronic Structure

Abstract : A combined X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory (DFT) study has been performed to characterize the adsorbate interaction of lutetium biphthalocyanine (LuPc2) molecules on the Si(100)-2 × 1 surface. Large molecule–substrate adsorption energies are computed and are found to compete with the molecule–molecule interactions of the double decker molecules. A particularly good matching between STM images and computed ones confirms the deformation of the molecule upon the absorption process. The comparison between DFT calculations and XP spectra reveals that the electronic distribution in the two plateaus of the biphthalocyanine are not affected in the same manner upon the adsorption onto the silicon surface. This finding can be of particular importance in the implementation of organic molecules in hybrid devices.