The adsorption of thiophene and 2, 2′-bithiophene on Al(111) has been studied using thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), angle-resolved UV photoemission (ARUPS), and work function measurements. Ab initio density functional theory calculations have been performed for thiophene on Al(111). Both thiophene and bithiophene bond only very weakly to Al(111), as indicated by TDS and calculations of the thiophene absorption energy, which is found to be only 0.54 eV. There is no indication of π-bonding in either the ARUPS data or the calculations. The calculated S–Al distance, 3.7 Å, is much greater than either measured or calculated S–metal distances for covalent bonding. The bonding is shown to be almost entirely electrostatic, with a small contribution from the sulfur lone pair. This is in direct contrast to calculations for Al–thiophene complexes which show covalent bonds between the Al atoms and the thiophene α carbons. The calculations show the molecule to be essentially flat, with a tilt angle of only 2° of the molecular plane relative to the surface. There is some indication of self-assembly of bithiophene on Al(111).
The band alignment of the bithiophene interface with a diverse range of substrates has been determined by a combination of ultraviolet photoemission and work function measurements. Not only is vacuum level alignment clearly shown to be invalid but also any sort of linear relationship between band alignment and substrate work function is shown not to be the case. Rather, the alignment is determined by the interface dipole, which is specific to the interaction at the inorganic-organic interface. The interface dipoles, which always appear, while dominated by the first monolayer interaction, are completed after two to three monolayers. As the ionization potentials of the films are shown to be constant, it is argued that a simple work function measurement, for an organic film on a particular substrate, quantifies the band alignment.
The presence of adventitious oxygen is inevitable when organic/metal interfaces are formed by evaporation in high vacuum (10−6 mbar.). In this letter, we highlight the importance of this oxygen for band alignment, and hence, performance, in organic-based devices. The influence of controlled amounts of oxygen on band alignment in benzene/aluminum model cathode interfaces has been studied using ultraviolet photoemission in ultrahigh vacuum. We show that even small amounts of oxygen significantly lower the aluminum work function with concomitant improvement in band alignment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.