Impact of fluorination on interface energetics and growth of pentacene on Ag(111)

We studied the structural and electronic properties of 2,3,9,10-tetrafluoropentacene (F4PEN) on Ag(111) via X-ray standing waves (XSW), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) as well as ultraviolet and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS and XPS). XSW revealed that the adsorption distances of F4PEN in (sub)monolayers on Ag(111) were 3.00 Å for carbon atoms and 3.05 Å for fluorine atoms. The F4PEN monolayer was essentially lying on Ag(111), and multilayers adopted π-stacking. Our study shed light not only on the F4PEN–Ag(111) interface but also on the fundamental adsorption behavior of fluorinated pentacene derivatives on metals in the context of interface energetics and growth mode.