Assembly of Ferrocene Molecules on Metal Surfaces Revisited.
Metallocene (MCp2) wires have recently attracted considerable interest in relation to molecular spintronics due to predictions concerning their half-metallic nature. This exciting prospect is however hampered by the little and often-contradictory knowledge we have concerning the metallocene self-assembly and interaction with a metal. Here, we elucidate these aspects by focusing on the adsorption of ferrocene on Cu(111) and Cu(100). Combining low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that the two-dimensional molecular arrangement consists of vertical- and horizontal-lying molecules. The noncovalent T-shaped interactions between Cp rings of vertical and horizontal molecules are essential for the stability of the physisorbed molecular layer. These results provide a fresh insight into ferrocene adsorption on surfaces and may serve as an archetypal reference for future work with this important variety of organometallic molecules.
†Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, UMR CNRS 7504, 67034 Strasbourg, France.
Maider
M
Ormaza
‡ICN2-Institut Catalá de Nanociéncia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.|§Instituto de Física de Rosario, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Av. Pellegrini 250, 2000 Rosario, Argentina.
Paula
P
Abufager
†Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, UMR CNRS 7504, 67034 Strasbourg, France.
Nicolas
N
Bachellier
‡ICN2-Institut Catalá de Nanociéncia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.|∥CSIC -Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, ICN2 Building, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
Roberto
R
Robles
⊥Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, ENS Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Martin
M
Verot
⊥Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, ENS Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Tangui
T
Le Bahers
⊥Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, ENS Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Marie-Laure
ML
Bocquet
‡ICN2-Institut Catalá de Nanociéncia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.|∥CSIC -Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, ICN2 Building, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
Nicolas
N
Lorente
†Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, UMR CNRS 7504, 67034 Strasbourg, France.
Laurent
L
Limot
Cu(100); Cu(111); Ferrocene; adsorption; density functional theory; scanning tunneling microscopy; self-assembly