Photoisomerization Ability of Molecular Switches Adsorbed on Au(111): Comparison between Azobenzene and Stilbene Derivatives

Autor: László Óvári, Peter Saalfrank, Tillmann Klamroth, Felix Leyssner, Jadranka Dokić, Petra Tegeder, Sebastian Hagen, Stefan Hecht, Maike V. Peters
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 114:1231-1239
ISSN: 1932-7455
1932-7447
DOI: 10.1021/jp909684x
Popis: High resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy and two-photon photoemission was employed to derive the adsorption geometry, electronic structure, and the photoisomerization ability of the molecular switch tetra-tert-butyl-stilbene (TBS) on Au(111). The results are compared with the azobenzene analogue, tetra-tert-butyl-azobenzene (TBA), adsorbed on Au(111). TBS was found to adsorb on Au(111) in a planar (trans) configuration similar to TBA. The energetic positions of several TBS-induced electronic states were determined, and in comparison to TBA, the higher occupied molecular states (e.g., the highest occupied molecular orbital, HOMO) are located at similar energetic positions. While surface-bound TBA can be switched with light between its trans and cis configurations, in TBS this switching ability is lost. In TBA on Au(111), the trans → cis isomerization is driven by a substrate-mediated charge transfer process, whereby photogenerated hot holes in the Au d band lead to transient positive ion formation...
Databáze: OpenAIRE