Planar growth of pentacene on the dielectric TiO2(110) surface

We have studied the growth of pentacene molecules on the unreconstructed and stoichiometric surface of TiO2(110). At variance with its characteristic homeotropic growth mode, pentacene is found to be physisorbed on this dielectric substrate with its long molecular axis oriented parallel to the surface and aligned along the [001] direction. Pentacene molecules couple side-by-side into long stripes running along the [11̅0] direction, where the overlayer preserves the substrate lattice periodicity (6.5 Å). In the opposite direction, head-to-head pentacene repulsion drives the ordering of the stripes, whose spacing simply depends on the surface coverage. By near-edge X-ray absorption, NEXAFS, we have determined the pentacene molecules to be tilted by ∼25° off the surface around their long axis. At the monolayer coverage, the pentacene orientation and spacing are very close to that of the (010) bulk planes (also called a−c planes) of pentacene crystals. We have observed that at least two additional layers can be grown on top of the monolayer following a planar configuration. Both the strong side-by-side intermolecular attraction and the full development of the bulklike electronic states, as probed by NEXAFS, suggest an optimal charge transport along the monolayer stripes of lying-down moleculesFinancial support from the Spanish CYCIT (MAT2008-1497) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (CSD2007-41 NANOSELECT) is greatly acknowledged. C.S.-S. is grateful to Ministerio de Educación for the AP2005-0433 FPU grant. Funding from the European Community Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 226716 is acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Planar Growth of Pentacene on the Dielectric TiO2(110) Surface

We have studied the growth of pentacene molecules on the unreconstructed and stoichiometric surface of TiO2(110). At variance with its characteristic homeotropic growth mode, pentacene is found to be physisorbed on this dielectric substrate with its long molecular axis oriented parallel to the surface and aligned along the [001] direction. Pentacene molecules couple side-by-side into long stripes running along the [1 (1) over bar0] direction, where the overlayer preserves the substrate lattice periodicity (similar to 6.5 angstrom). In the opposite direction, head-to-head pentacene repulsion drives the ordering of the stripes, whose spacing simply depends on the surface coverage. By near-edge X-ray absorption, NEXAFS, we have determined the pentacene molecules to be tilted by similar to 25 degrees off the surface around their long axis. At the monolayer coverage, the pentacene orientation and spacing are very close to that of the (010) bulk planes (also called a-c planes) of pentacene crystals. We have observed that at least two additional layers can be grown on top of the monolayer following a planar configuration. Both the strong side-by-side intermolecular attraction and the full development of the bulklike electronic states, as probed by NEXAFS, suggest an optimal charge transport along the monolayer stripes of lying-down molecules