KPFM and DFT as tools to correlate the relationship between charge distribution on surfaces and molecular orientation of dendritic adsorbates

ELIANA D. FARÍAS; MARTIN E. ZOLOFF-MICHOFF; VALERIA N. SUELDO OCCELLO; VERONICA BRUNETTI; MARIO C. G. PASSEGGI (JR); THILO GLATZEL

Conferencia; 2020 Express Conference on the Physics of Materials and its application in Energy and Environment; 2020

The interaction between metals and organic layers has received a lot of attention lately due to itsrelevance in future applications based on hybrid organic/inorganic systems at the nanoscale.Modifying surfaces through self-assembly represents an interesting tool for tailoring superficialphysical and chemical properties. This work studies the adsorption of aryl-dendrons on carbon,analysing its effect on the work function (WF). KPFM is used to assess local WF variations, accordingto the arrangement of the organic layer. The images obtained show a connection between the WFvariation and the spatial order, which varies depending on whether the areas are partially covered ordensely packed. DFT calculations were performed to verify the correlation between the WF variationand the effective molecular dipole moment. The overall results show the importance of controlling thedistribution of these molecular assemblies at a nanoscopic scale to achieve the desired properties.