Porphyrin derivatives are promising candidates for the generation of functional molecular architectures on surfaces. The unambiguous identification of individual porphyrin species is a prerequisite in this regard. We investigated a layer of intermixed tetraphenylporphyrins (TPP), namely 2HTPP, FeTPP and CoTPP at room temperature. Voltage-dependent STM imaging was successfully applied to discriminate the very similar porphyrins. The characteristic appearance of CoTPP at low negative voltages (>-0.4 V) can be traced back to a specific interaction of the Co dz2 orbital with the underlying Ag substrate. The dumbbell appearance observed for FeTPP over a wide bias range and for CoTPP at lower negative voltages (<-0.4 V) is in line with the well known saddle shape of the porphyrin macrocycle in the adsorbed state.
Microscope:
UHV300 VT
Controls:
RHK SPM 100
Contributors:
F. Buchner, K.-G. Warnick, T. Wölfle, A. Görling, H.-P. Steinrück, W. Hieringer and H. Marbach – Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg
Reference:
J. Phys. Chem. C 2009, 113, 16450–16457
