| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Surface Science | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session SS2+EM+TF-WeM |
| Session: | SAMs and Organic Films I |
| Presenter: | C.J. Baddeley, University of St Andrews, UK |
| Authors: | A.G. Trant, University of St Andrews, UK T.E. Jones, University of St Andrews, UK C.J. Baddeley, University of St Andrews, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The adsorption of glutamic acid onto 2-D Ni clusters on Au{111} has been investigated using reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Adsorption at 300 K leads to two distinct adsorbate species which we conclude are zwitterionic species adsorbed either at Ni-like sites in the centre of the clusters or at interfacial sites at the edges of clusters. Adsorption of (S)-glutamic acid causes the complete destruction of clusters of initial diameter <3 nm. We conclude that the Ni islands have been corroded resulting in the formation of a Ni salt - presumably nickel (II) glutamate. On annealing to 350 K, chains of 1-D molecular features are observed in STM experiments. We discuss the possible composition and structure of this salt and conclude that the chains most likely consist of nickel (II) pyroglutamate. Metal pyroglutamate salts are known to be produced by heating glutamate salts. The intermolecular bonding and azimuthal alignment of the 1-D chains are discussed. We also report the formation of analogous networks from Ni + (R)-glutamic acid and discuss the influence of stereochemistry on the structure of the networks.