Deducing 2D crystal structure at the liquid/solid interface with atomic resolution: a combined STM and SFG study.
Sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG) has been applied to study two-dimensional (2D) crystals formed by an isophthalic acid diester on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, providing complementary measurements to scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and computational modeling. SFG results indicate that both aromatic and C=O groups in the 2D crystal tilt from the surface. This study demonstrates that a combination of SFG and STM techniques can be used to gain a more complete picture of 2D crystal structure, and it is necessary to consider solvent-2D crystal interactions and dynamics in the computer models to achieve an accurate representation of interfacial structure.
Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Arthur A
AA
McClelland
Seokhoon
S
Ahn
Adam J
AJ
Matzger
Zhan
Z
Chen