Real-time decay of fluorinated fullerene molecules on Cu(001) surface controlled by initial coverage

• Published in: Nano research Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 2069 - 2082
• Main Authors: Oreshkin, Andrey I., Muzychenko, Dmitry A., Oreshkin, Sergey I., Yakovlev, Vladimir A., Murugan, Palanichamy, Chandrasekaran, S. Selva, Kumar, Vijay, Bakhtizin, Rauf Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Tsinghua University Press 01.04.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atomic/Molecular Structure and Spectra; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Buckminsterfullerene; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Decay; Density functional theory; Detaching; Fluorination; Fullerenes; Materials Science; Nanotechnology; Phase transitions; Research Article; Scanning tunneling microscopy; fluorinated fullerene; Cu surface; two-dimensional (2D) molecular island; self-assembling molecules; scanning tunneling microscopy (STM); density functional theory (DFT); 2D gas phase
• ISSN: 1998-0124; 1998-0000
• DOI: 10.1007/s12274-017-1823-9

In this study, the evolution of C 60 F 18 molecules on a Cu(001) surface was studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. The results showed that fluorinated fullerenes (tortoise-shaped polar C 60 F 18 ) decay on Cu(001) surfaces by a step-by-step detachment of F atoms from the C 60 cage. The most favorable adsorption configuration was realized when the F atoms of C 60 F 18 pointed towards the Cu surface and six F atoms were detached from it. The results also showed that a further decay of C 60 F 12 molecules strongly depended on the initial C 60 F 18 coverage. The detached F atoms initially formed a two-dimensional (2D) gas phase which then slowly transformed into F-induced surface structures. The degree of contact between the C 60 F 12 molecules and the Cu(001) surface depended on the density of the 2D gas phase. Hence, the life-time of fluorinated fullerenes was determined by the density of the 2D gas phase, which was affected by the formation of new F-induced structures and the decay of C 60 F 12 molecules.