Publication detail
Structure of epitaxial heteromolecular bilayers probed by low-energy electron microscopy
PROCHÁZKA, P. STARÁ, V. PLANER, J. SKÁLA, T. ČECHAL, J.
Original Title
Structure of epitaxial heteromolecular bilayers probed by low-energy electron microscopy
Type
journal article in Web of Science
Language
English
Original Abstract
Heteromolecular interfaces with tailored properties are vital for many advanced applications. However, the complex view on the formation of these interfaces is generally missing as it is difficult to access them with common techniques. Here, we employ hierarchical self-assembly to build a heteromolecular interface of structurally similar yet chemically distinct molecular building blocks and demonstrate an epitaxial relationship between the top and bottom layers. In particular, we employ semideprotonated phase of 4,4 ' biphenyl dicarboxylic acid (BDA) on Ag(001) surface to mediate the epitaxial growth of intact BDA phase on the top. The interface phase induces high structural order of the second layer phase, which was missing on Ag surface. The combination of real-space imaging and diffraction analysis by low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) enabled us to precisely identify structural features, including domain sizes and orientations, and the distinct origin of domain boundaries in the first and second layers. Our work thus establishes LEEM as an efficient method for studying heteromolecular interfaces.
Keywords
Molecular stacking; Self-assembly; Surfaces; Low-energy electron microscopy; Scanning tunneling microscopy; Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Authors
PROCHÁZKA, P.; STARÁ, V.; PLANER, J.; SKÁLA, T.; ČECHAL, J.
Released
1. 4. 2025
Publisher
ELSEVIER
Location
AMSTERDAM
ISBN
2468-0230
Periodical
SURFACES AND INTERFACES
Year of study
62
Number
106251
State
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Pages from
106251-1
Pages to
106251-8
Pages count
8
URL