The adsorption of fullerene and phthalocyanine molecules on inorganic substrates

• Main Author: Yan, Cong
• Published: University of Nottingham 2008
• Subjects: 530.417
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.491628

This work is centered on the study of fullerene and phthalocyanine molecules adsorption on silicon and gold surfaces. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique and atomic force microscopy (AFi\-I) are used to fabricate fullerene monolayer and study its morphology. Simulation with density functional theory (DFT) is carried out for the l\IPc:Ag(lll) systems (l\I=Co: Sn and Pb). Contrast-enhanced video microscopy is used to capture and reveal the mechanism of the dewetting process of CoPe and SnPc on silicon substratcs. In the fabrication of ultra-thin Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of fullerene (CGo ) and fullcrcnc dcrivativcs (CGoO, N@Cw and (C59Nh), facetcd monolaycr islands as well as worm-like monolayer domains were observed by using small amounts of low concentration solutions of Cw (and CwO) with low target pressures. The monolayer islands ,vere fabricated from both high purity ,vater and phenol solution subphase. 3 nm-thick multilayers were also formed for all these molecules. For CwO multilayers, a distinct ring (or 'doughnut') feature was discovered, which was never observed by other fullerene molecules. In the simulation of molecular adsorption of the metal phthalocyanines (MPc, l\I=Co, Sn and Pb) on Ag(l11), two cluster models (Ag55 and Ag169 ) were used to simulate the Ag(lll) surface. For each MPc molecule three adsorption sites (on top site, fcc hollow site and hcp hollow site) were considered and tested in terms of their stabilities. The simulation results of the distance between the core of the MPcs and the surface are highly consistent with experimental data. Binding cncrgies and adsorption gcomctrics wcrc als<:> CJbtaincd. A variety of complex patterns were observed from the dewetting of metal phthalocyanine (CoPe and SnPc) solutions (toluene or chloroform) from silicon surfaces. Contrast-enhanced video microscopy has be~n used to study the dynamics and morphology of the CoPc and SnPc assemblies. The patterns are studied in detail with AFM on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicon surfaces