AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Surface Science Division Tuesday Sessions
       Session SS+EM-TuA

Paper SS+EM-TuA8
Solvation - Assisted Growth of ZnPc and 4NO2-ZnPc Monolayer Films on Au(111)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 4:20 pm, Room 110

Session: Organic Electronic Interfaces
Presenter: Levan Tskipuri, University of Maryland, College Park
Authors: L. Tskipuri, University of Maryland, College Park
Q. Shao, University of Maryland, College Park
J.E. Reutt-Robey, University of Maryland, College Park
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The UHV spray-jet molecular beam deposition technique marries the chemical versatility and efficiency of solution-film processing with the atomic-level control and analytical tools of UHV surface science. Here we show how the solvent used in aerosol deposition can be used to fine tune film morphology. Thin films of ZnPc and 4NO2-ZnPc are grown on a Au(111) support with a newly developed spray-jet molecular beam deposition source and characterized in situ via UHV-STM. Phthalocyanes are delivered to the Au(111) surface in a series of N2-entrained μ-sized solvent droplets of variable surface residence time. The formation of submonolayer films with corresponding density variations demonstrates the impact of the ~nm-thick solvation layers on growth kinetics. Phthalocyanine film registration to the herringbone reconstruction of the Au(111) substrate, indicative of thermodyanically-favored structure, is observed only for aromatic solvents with long residence times. Vacancy cavities in monolayer films from solvent memory are eliminated with mild annealing, yielding film structures that rival PVD grown films. Results are interpreted through solvation-mediated kinetics.