Dr. François C. Bocquet (Posseik) » People

@article{Haags2021,

title = {Momentum-space imaging of σ-orbitals for chemical analysis},

author = {A. Haags and X. Yang and L. Egger and D. Brandstetter and H. Kirschner and F. C. Bocquet and G. Koller and A. Gottwald and M. Richter and J. M. Gottfried and M. G. Ramsey and P. Puschnig and S. Soubatch and F. S. Tautz},

doi = {10.1126/sciadv.abn0819},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

journal = {Sci. Adv.},

volume = {8},

pages = {eabn0819},

abstract = {Tracing the modifications of molecules in surface chemical reactions benefits from the possibility to image their orbitals. While delocalized frontier orbitals with π character are imaged routinely with photoemission orbital tomography, they are not always sensitive to local chemical modifications, particularly the making and breaking of bonds at the molecular periphery. For such bonds, σ orbitals would be far more revealing. Here, we show that these orbitals can indeed be imaged in a remarkably broad energy range and that the plane wave approximation, an important ingredient of photoemission orbital tomography, is also well fulfilled for these orbitals. This makes photoemission orbital tomography a unique tool for the detailed analysis of surface chemical reactions. We demonstrate this by identifying the reaction product of a dehalogenation and cyclodehydrogenation reaction.},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Hurdax2022,

title = {Large Distortion of Fused Aromatics on Dielectric Interlayers Quantified by Photoemission Orbital Tomography},

author = {P. Hurdax and C. S. Kern and T. G. Boné and A. Haags and M. Hollerer and L. Egger and X. Yang and H. Kirschner and A. Gottwald and M. Richter and F. C. Bocquet and S. Soubatch and G. Koller and F. S. Tautz and M. Sterrer and P. Puschnig and M. G. Ramsey},

doi = {10.1021/acsnano.2c08631},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

journal = {ACS Nano},

volume = {16},

pages = {17435-17443},

abstract = {Polycyclic aromatic compounds with fused benzene rings offer an extraordinary versatility as next-generation organic semiconducting materials for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics due to their tunable characteristics, including charge-carrier mobility and optical absorption. Nonplanarity can be an additional parameter to customize their electronic and optical properties without changing the aromatic core. In this work, we report a combined experimental and theoretical study in which we directly observe large, geometry-induced modifications in the frontier orbitals of a prototypical dye molecule when adsorbed on an atomically thin dielectric interlayer on a metallic substrate. Experimentally, we employ angle-resolved photoemission experiments, interpreted in the framework of the photoemission orbital tomography technique. We demonstrate its sensitivity to detect geometrical bends in adsorbed molecules and highlight the role of the photon energy used in experiment for detecting such geometrical distortions. Theoretically, we conduct density functional calculations to determine the geometric and electronic structure of the adsorbed molecule and simulate the photoemission angular distribution patterns. While we found an overall good agreement between experimental and theoretical data, our results also unveil limitations in current van der Waals corrected density functional approaches for such organic/dielectric interfaces. Hence, photoemission orbital tomography provides a vital experimental benchmark for such systems. By comparison with the state of the same molecule on a metallic substrate, we also offer an explanation why the adsorption on the dielectric induces such large bends in the molecule.},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Saettele2020,

title = {Going beyond Pentacene: Photoemission Tomography of a Heptacene Monolayer on Ag(110)},

author = {M. S. Sättele and A. Windischbacher and L. Egger and A. Haags and P. Hurdax and H. Kirschner and A. Gottwald and M. Richter and F. C. Bocquet and S. Soubatch and F. S. Tautz and H. F. Bettinger and H. Peisert and T. Chassé and M. G. Ramsey and P. Puschnig and G. Koller},

doi = {10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c09062},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

journal = {J. Phys. Chem. C},

volume = {125},

pages = {2918-2925},

abstract = {Longer acenes such as heptacene are promising candidates for optoelectronic applications but are unstable in their bulk structure as they tend to dimerize. This makes the growth of well-defined monolayers and films problematic. In this article, we report the successful preparation of a highly oriented monolayer of heptacene on Ag(110) by thermal cycloreversion of diheptacenes. In a combined effort of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we characterize the electronic and structural properties of the molecule on the surface in detail. Our investigations allow us to unambiguously confirm the successful fabrication of a highly oriented complete monolayer of heptacene and to describe its electronic structure. By comparing experimental momentum maps of photoemission from frontier orbitals of heptacene and pentacene, we shed light on differences between these two acenes regarding their molecular orientation and energy-level alignment on the metal surfaces.},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Wallauer2020,

title = {Tracing orbital images on ultrafast time scales},

author = {R. Wallauer and M. Raths and K. Stallberg and L. Münster and D. Brandstetter and X. Yang and J. Güdde and P. Puschnig and S. Soubatch and C. Kumpf and F. C. Bocquet and F. S. Tautz and U. Höfer},

doi = {10.1126/science.abf3286},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

urldate = {2021-01-01},

journal = {Science},

volume = {371},

pages = {1056-1059},

abstract = {Frontier orbitals determine fundamental molecular properties such as chemical reactivities. Although electron distributions of occupied orbitals can be imaged in momentum space by photoemission tomography, it has so far been impossible to follow the momentum-space dynamics of a molecular orbital in time, for example, through an excitation or a chemical reaction. Here, we combined time-resolved photoemission using high laser harmonics and a momentum microscope to establish a tomographic, femtosecond pump-probe experiment of unoccupied molecular orbitals. We measured the full momentum-space distribution of transiently excited electrons, connecting their excited-state dynamics to real-space excitation pathways. Because in molecules this distribution is closely linked to orbital shapes, our experiment may, in the future, offer the possibility of observing ultrafast electron motion in time and space.},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Haags2020,

title = {Kekulene: On-Surface Synthesis, Orbital Structure, and Aromatic Stabilization},

author = {A. Haags and A. Reichmann and Q. Fan and L. Egger and H. Kirschner and T. Naumann and S. Werner and T. Vollgraff and J. Sundermeyer and L. Eschmann and X. Yang and D. Brandstetter and F. C. Bocquet and G. Koller and A. Gottwald and M. Richter and M. G. Ramsey and M. Rohlfing and P. Puschnig and J. M. Gottfried and S. Soubatch and F. S. Tautz},

doi = {10.1021/acsnano.0c06798},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {ACS Nano},

volume = {14},

pages = {15766-15775},

abstract = {We revisit the question of kekulene’s aromaticity by focusing on the electronic structure of its frontier orbitals as determined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. To this end, we have developed a specially designed precursor, 1,4,7(2,7)-triphenanthrenacyclononaphane-2,5,8-triene, which allows us to prepare sufficient quantities of kekulene of high purity directly on a Cu(111) surface, as confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy. Supported by density functional calculations, we determine the orbital structure of kekulene’s highest occupied molecular orbital by photoemission tomography. In agreement with a recent aromaticity assessment of kekulene based solely on C–C bond lengths, we conclude that the π-conjugation of kekulene is better described by the Clar model rather than a superaromatic model. Thus, by exploiting the capabilities of photoemission tomography, we shed light on the question which consequences aromaticity holds for the frontier electronic structure of a π-conjugated molecule.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Felter2019,

title = {Momentum microscopy on the micrometer scale: photoemission micro-tomography applied to single molecular domains},

author = {J. Felter and J. Wolters and F. C. Bocquet and F. S. Tautz and C. Kumpf},

doi = {10.1088/1361-648X/aafc45},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-01-25},

journal = {J. Phys.: Condens. Matter},

volume = {31},

pages = {114003},

abstract = {Photoemission tomography (PT) is a newly developed method for analyzing angularresolved photoemission data. In combination with momentum microscopy it allows fora comprehensive investigation of the electronic structure of (in particular) metal-organicinterfaces as they occur in organic electronic devices. The most interesting aspect in thiscontext is the band alignment, the control of which is indispensable for designing devices.Since PT is based on characteristic photoemission patterns that are used as fingerprints,the method works well as long as these patterns are uniquely representing the specificmolecular orbital they are originating from. But this limiting factor is often not fulfilledfor systems exhibiting many differently oriented molecules, as they may occur on highlysymmetric substrate surfaces. Here we show that this limitation can be lifted by recording thephotoemission data in a momentum microscope and limiting the probed surface area to onlya few micrometers squared, since this corresponds to a typical domain size for many systems.We demonstrate this by recording data from a single domain of the archetypal adsorbatesystem 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride on Cu(0 0 1). This proof of principleexperiment paves the way for establishing the photoemission μ-tomography method as anideal tool for investigating the electronic structure of metal-organic interfaces with so farunraveled clarity and unambiguity.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Yang2019,

title = {Identifying surface reaction intermediates with photoemission tomography},

author = {X. Yang and L. Egger and P. Hurdax and H. Kaser and D. Lüftner and F. C. Bocquet and G. Koller and A. Gottwald and P. Tegeder and M. Richter and M. G. Ramsey and P. Puschnig and S. Soubatch and F. S. Tautz},

doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-11133-9},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-01-01},

journal = {Nat. Commun.},

volume = {10},

pages = {3189},

abstract = {The determination of reaction pathways and the identification of reaction intermediates are key issues in chemistry. Surface reactions are particularly challenging, since many methods of analytical chemistry are inapplicable at surfaces. Recently, atomic force microscopy has been employed to identify surface reaction intermediates. While providing an excellent insight into the molecular backbone structure, atomic force microscopy is less conclusive about the molecular periphery, where adsorbates tend to react with the substrate. Here we show that photoemission tomography is extremely sensitive to the character of the frontier orbitals. Specifically, hydrogen abstraction at the molecular periphery is easily detected, and the precise nature of the reaction intermediates can be determined. This is illustrated with the thermally induced reaction of dibromo-bianthracene to graphene which is shown to proceed via a fully hydrogenated bisanthene intermediate. We anticipate that photoemission tomography will become a powerful companion to other techniques in the study of surface reaction pathways.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Willenbockel2012,

title = {Energy offsets within a molecular monolayer: The influence of the molecular environment},

author = {M. Willenbockel and B. Stadtmüller and K. Schönauer and F. C. Bocquet and D. Lüftner and E. M. Reinisch and T. Ules and G. Koller and C. Kumpf and S. Soubatch and P. Puschnig and M. G. Ramsey and F. S. Tautz},

doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/15/3/033017},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-01-01},

journal = {New J. Phys.},

volume = {15},

pages = {033017},

abstract = {The compressed 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) herringbone monolayer structure on Ag(110) is used as a model system to investigate the role of molecule–molecule interactions at metal–organic interfaces. By means of the orbital tomography technique, we can not only distinguish the two inequivalent molecules in the unit cell but also resolve their different energy positions for the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals. Density functional theory calculations of a freestanding PTCDA layer identify the electrostatic interaction between neighboring molecules, rather than the adsorption site, as the main reason for the molecular level splitting observed experimentally.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Stadtmuller2012a,

title = {Orbital tomography for highly symmetric adsorbate systems},

author = {B. Stadtmüller and M. Willenbockel and E. M. Reinisch and T. Ules and F. C. Bocquet and S. Soubatch and P. Puschnig and G. Koller and M. G. Ramsey and F. S. Tautz and C. Kumpf},

doi = {10.1209/0295-5075/100/26008},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Europhys. Lett.},

volume = {100},

pages = {26008},

abstract = {Orbital tomography is a new and very powerful tool to analyze the angular distribution of a photoemission spectroscopy experiment. It was successfully used for organic adsorbate systems to identify (and consequently deconvolute) the contributions of specific molecular orbitals to the photoemission data. The technique was so far limited to surfaces with low symmetry like fcc(110) oriented surfaces, owing to the small number of rotational domains that occur on such surfaces. In this letter we overcome this limitation and present an orbital tomography study of a 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetra-carboxylic-dianhydride (PTCDA) monolayer film adsorbed on Ag(111). Although this system exhibits twelve differently oriented molecules, the angular resolved photoemission data still allow a meaningful analysis of the different local density of states and reveal different electronic structures for symmetrically inequivalent molecules. We also discuss the precision of the orbital tomography technique in terms of counting statistics and linear regression fitting algorithm. Our results demonstrate that orbital tomography is not limited to low-symmetry surfaces, a finding which makes a broad field of complex adsorbate systems accessible to this powerful technique.},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}