ANGULAR RESOLVED X-RAY ABSORPTION NEAR EDGE STRUCTURE INVESTIGATION OF ADSORBED ALKANETHIOL MONOLAYERS ON III–V(110) SURFACES

Abstract

The structure of alkanethiol monolayers on III-V(110) surfaces was studied by analyzing the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) of the carbon K edge. Pronounced absorption maxima were observed for special orientations of the polarization vector of the radiation as revealed from angular-dependent measurements, suggesting a rather well-defined molecular axis of the alkyl chains. From quantitative evaluations of these angular dependences the chains were found to be tilted from the normal towards the [001] direction of the (110) surfaces by 34° and 15° in the case of hexadecanethiol (HDT) adsorption on InP and GaP, respectively. The similarities as well as the differences in tilt angles between the substrates are dicussed in terms of constraints imposed by the surface structure and lattice constants as well as the space requirements of the van der Waals spheres of the adsorbed thiols. A unique feature observed on these monolayers is the nearly complete alignment of the alkyl chains with respect to the azimuthal orientation. We suggest that this adsorbate system represents the case of a single domain orientation within the organic monolayer.