Visualizing the Frontier Orbitals of a Conformationally Adapted Metalloporphyrin

  • chair:

    Weber-Bargioni, A. / Auwärter, W. / Klappenberger, F. / Reichert, J. / Lefrançois, S. / Strunskus, T. / Wöll, Ch. / Schiffrin, A. / Pennec, Y. / Barth, J.V. (2008)
  • place:

    ChemPhysChem 9 (2008), 1, 89-94
  • Date: 2008

  • Weber-Bargioni, A. / Auwärter, W. / Klappenberger, F. / Reichert, J. / Lefrançois, S. / Strunskus, T. / Wöll, Ch. / Schiffrin, A. / Pennec, Y. / Barth, J.V. (2008): "Visualizing the Frontier Orbitals of a Conformationally Adapted Metalloporphyrin". In: ChemPhysChem 9 (2008), 1, 89-94

Abstract

We present a molecular-level study of the geometric and electronic properties of Co(II) tetraphenylporphyrin molecules adsorbed on the Cu(111) surface. A combination of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure observations reveals how the metal substrate induces a conformational adaptation into a distorted saddle-shaped geometry.

By scanning tunneling spectroscopy we identified the discrete energy levels of the molecule and mapped their spatial electron-density distributions. These results, along with a simple theoretical description, provide a direct correlation between the shape of frontier molecular orbitals and intramolecular structural features.

 

 

  Download [PDF]