Impact of substrate corrugation on the sliding friction levels of adsorbed films

We report a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) study of sliding friction for solid xenon monolayers at 77 K on Cu(111), Ni(111), graphene/Ni(111), and C(60) substrates. Simulations have predicted a strong dependence of phononic friction coefficient (eta) on surface corrugation in systems with similar lattice spacing, eta approximately U(2)(0), but this has never before been shown experimentally. In order to make direct comparisons with theory, substrates with similar lattice spacing but varying amplitudes of surface corrugation were studied. QCM data reveal friction levels proportional to U(2)(0), validating current theoretical and numerical predictions. Measurements of Xe/C(60) are also included for comparison purposes.     

Orientationally ordered (7x7) superstructure of C60 on AU(111)

Long range orientational order within C60 monolayers on Au(111) is observed with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. A unit cell comprised of 49 molecules which adopt 11 different orientations is found. It can be divided in a faulted and an unfaulted half similar to the (7x7) reconstruction of Si(111). A model is proposed which shows how, through a Moiré-like effect, the substrate induces minute changes in the orientation of the C60 molecules. Intermolecular interactions are shown to play a major role in stabilizing the superlattice.     

Early stages of interface formation of C60 on GaAs(1 0 0)

We present a detailed investigation of the electronic properties of C₆₀ grown on GaAs(1 0 0) substrates, as a function of the fullerene coverage, from the very early stages of interface formation up to the development of a bulk-like fullerene film. We monitor the chemical interactions and the energy levels alignment by means of X-rays, ultraviolet and inverse photoemission spectroscopies. The two latter techniques allow to investigate the electronic structure close to the Fermi level. Energy levels alignment at the interfaces of C₆₀ with p-doped and GaAs(1 0 0) are obtained and discussed.     

Theory of distinct crystal structures of polymerized fullerides AC60, A = K, Rb, Cs: the specific role of alkalis

The polymer phases of AC60 form distinct crystal structures characterized by the mutual orientations of the (C( -)(60))(n) chains. We show that the direct electric quadrupole interaction between chains always favors the orthorhombic structure Pmnn with alternating chain orientations. However, the specific quadrupolar polarizability of the alkali metal ions leads to an indirect interchain coupling which favors the monoclinic structure I2/m with equal chain orientations. The competition between direct and indirect interactions explains the structural difference between KC60 and RbC60, CsC60.     

物理因素对磷脂酰胆碱单分子层影响的研究

利用LB技术,在不同的物理条件下对磷脂酰胆碱单分子成膜质量和分子的构象变化进行了研究,在此础上对磷脂酰胆碱和胆固醇组成的复合膜的相变过程进行了研究,利用AFM对磷脂酰胆碱分子LB膜的分子构象和二维排布进行了表征.研究结果表明,物理因素温度、pH、浓度及胆固醇对于气液界面上磷脂酰胆碱的分子构象的结构有较大的影响.通过选择合适的条件能够得到具有特殊形态和结构的磷脂酰胆碱LB膜.     

Energy loss spectroscopy (ELS) on the Si-Au system

We report on the energy loss spectroscopy obtained on the clean cleaved Si(111) covered with different gold thickness. The results clearly indicate that in the Si-Au system the interface is characterized by a Si rich phase with a well defined electronic transition at 7.5 eV energy loss. Increasing Au thickness the main changes in the spectrum arise in the low energy loss region and a gold-like behaviour is observed for a gold coverage of 60 monolayers. The effects of annealing at 350°C are reported.     

Spatially mapping the spectral density of a single C60 molecule

We have used scanning tunneling spectroscopy to spatially map the energy-resolved local density of states of individual C60 molecules on the Ag(100) surface. Spectral maps were obtained for molecular states derived from the C60 HOMO, LUMO, and LUMO+1 orbitals, revealing new details of the spatially inhomogeneous C60 local electronic structure. Spatial inhomogeneities are explained using ab initio pseudopotential density functional calculations. These calculations emphasize the need for explicitly including the C60-Ag interaction and STM tip trajectory to understand the observed C60 local electronic structure.     

Energetics and electronic structures of encapsulated C60 in a carbon nanotube

We report total-energy electronic structure calculations that provide energetics of encapsulation of C60 in the carbon nanotube and electronic structures of the resulting carbon peapods. We find that the encapsulating process is exothermic for the (10,10) nanotube, whereas the processes are endothermic for the (8,8) and (9,9) nanotubes, indicative that the minimum radius of the nanotube for the encapsulation is 6.4 A. We also find that the C(60)@(10,10) is a metal with multicarriers each of which distributes either along the nanotube or on the C60 chain. This unusual feature is due to the nearly free electron state that is inherent to hierarchical solids with sufficient space inside.     

Temperature-dependent fermi gap opening in the c(6x4)-C60/Ag(100) two-dimensional superstructure

High-resolution angle-integrated photoemission of one monolayer of C (60) chemisorbed on Ag(100) shows the reversible opening of a gap at the Fermi level at temperatures 25< or =T< or =300 K. The gap reaches a maximum value of approximately 10 meV at T< or =70 K. This finding is the first evidence of an electronic phase transition in C60 monolayers and has implications on the ongoing debate about surface superconductivity in C60-based bulk materials.     

Comparing the band structure of Ag(1 1 1) monolayers on Ni(1 1 1) and Ni (0 0 1)

Ag(1 1 1) monolayers prepared on two substrates, Ni(1 1 1) and Ni(0 0 1), were studied with angle-resolved photoemission; their two-dimensional band dispersions were found to be identical within experimental uncertainties. Comparing the present results with those for Ag/Cu(0 0 1), the major difference is just a shift of 0.32 eV in all the binding energies. Thus the band topology of Ag overlayers in these systems is quite insensitive to the electronic and atomic structures of the substrates.     

An interface study of crystalline Fe/Ge multilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Fe/Ge multilayers were grown on single crystal Ge(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Fe/Ge have been studied. The analysis shows that Fe grows in a layer-by-layer epitaxial growth mode on Ge(0 0 1) substrates at 150 °C and no intermixing has been observed. Growth of a crystalline Ge film at 150 °C on a single crystal Fe film has been observed. At this temperature Ge films grow by means of the island growth mode according to reflection of high energy electron diffraction patterns. Fe layers of 36 nm thickness, deposited at 150 °C on Ge(0 0 1) substrates, show two magnetization reversal values indicating the growth of Fe in two different crystal orientations. 36 nm thick Fe and Ge layers grown at 150 °C in Ge/Fe/Ge/Fe/Ge(0 0 1) sequence shows ferromagnetic behavior, however, the same structure grown at 200 °C shows paramagnetic behavior.     

Electron diffraction on GaAs nanowhiskers grown on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy

The crystal structure of GaAs nanowhiskers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on Si(111) and Si(100) substrates is investigated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). It is revealed that, in both cases, the electron diffraction images contain a combination (superposition) of systems of reflections characteristic of the hexagonal (wurtzite and/or 4H polytype) and cubic (sphalerite) phases of the GaAs compound. The growth on the Si(111) substrates leads to the formation of nanowhiskers with hexagonal (wurtzite and/or 4H polytype) and cubic (sphalerite) structures with one and two orientations, respectively. In the case of the Si(100) substrates, the grown array contains GaAs nanowhiskers that have a cubic structure with five different orientations and a hexagonal structure with eight orientations in the (110) planes of the substrate. The formation of the two-phase crystal structure in nanowhiskers is explained by the wurtzite—sphalerite phase transitions and/or twinning of crystallites.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of surface-adsorbed fullerenes: C60, C70, and C84

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is used to characterize partial monolayers of C₆₀, C₇₀, and C₈₄ adsorbed on the Au(1 1 1) surface at room temperature and under ambient conditions. A high degree of structural polymorphism is observed for monolayers of each of these fullerenes. For C₆₀, three lattice packings are observed, including a previously unreported 7 × 7 R21.8° structure that is stabilized by adjacent surface step defects. For C₇₀, two lattice packings are observed, and analysis of molecular features in STM images allows molecular binding geometry to be determined. In one of the two observed lattice structures, C₇₀ molecules align their long axis along the surface normal, while in the other, molecules align parallel to the surface and along a gold lattice direction. The parallel geometry is also preferred for isolated and loosely packed molecules on the surface. C₈₄ exhibits a large number of lattice orientations and no long-range order, and likely binds incommensurately on Au(1 1 1). Time series of images of partial C₇₀ monolayers show progressive surface modification as a result of perturbation by the STM tip; this is in contrast to the behavior of C₆₀, where alterations in surface structure at room temperature are thermally driven.     

Langmuir-Blodgett膜摩擦分子动力学模拟和机理研究

采用分子动力学方法,模拟了在两块石英基板上由脂肪酸(C₁₅H₃₁COOH)组成的单层Langmuir-Blodgett (LB)膜间的摩擦特性,探究了超薄膜在滑动过程中的摩擦和结构机理.得出对于单层LB膜在滑动过程中,在速度小于60m/s时,随着速度的增大,其剪切压增大;在速度大于60 m/s时,剪切压随速度的增加而减小.其链的倾斜角随着滑动速度的增加而减小.单层膜内的分子之间以氢键方式形成了较大的分子簇,由此导致了剪切压呈现较长的周期性,但在单层膜之间无氢键形 关键词： 分子动力学模拟 朗缪尔布洛杰特膜 纳米摩擦 氢键     

Resonant Electron Transfer in Collisions between Two Fullerene Ions

Fullerenes are a direct link between atoms with discrete electronic energy levels and solids with a band structure and a well-defined surface. In this Letter, we report on the first ever experiment on resonant electron transfer in collisions between two fullerene ions. Total cross sections have been measured for the reaction C+60+C2+60-->C2+60+C+60 at center-of-mass energies ranging from 27 to 69 keV. Surprisingly, within the error bars, these cross sections are identical to the respective cross sections for C+60+C60 measured by Rohmund and Campbell [J. Phys. B 30, 5293 (1997)]]. We show that the experimental data for both collision systems are very well reproduced by a quantum mechanical treatment of the reaction based on the concept of hole particles and the polarizability of the fullerene molecule.     

Novel orientational ordering and reentrant metallicity in K(x)C(60) monolayers for 3 < or = x < or = 5

STM studies on K(x)C(60) monolayers reveal new behavior over a wide range of the phase diagram. As x increases from 3 to 5 K(x)C(60) monolayers undergo metal-insulator-metal reentrant phase transitions and exhibit a variety of novel orientational orderings, including a complex 7-molecule, pinwheel-like structure. The proposed driving mechanism for the orientational ordering is the lowering of electron kinetic energy by maximizing the overlap of neighboring molecular orbitals. In insulating (metallic) K(x)C(60) this gives rise to orbital versions of the superexchange (double-exchange) interaction.     

Quantum-size effects in the electronic structure of low-dimensional metallic systems

By angle-resolved photoemission the electronic structure of quantum films of Mg, Ag, and Au has been compared on W(110) and Mo(110) substrates which are structurally and electronically very similar but differ in atomic number. In all cases, substrate-induced states with characteristic dispersions are observed in the region of a bulk band gap of the substrate. Based on the comparison between Mo and W, we can exclude that previously observed Mg states are spin-orbit split but observe a spin-orbit splitting in Ag and Au monolayers. This splitting is mainly caused by the substrate because it does not differ much between Ag and Au overlayers despite the large difference in atomic number.     

Penta-P<Subscript>2</Subscript>X (X=C,Si) monolayers as wide-bandgap semiconductors: A first principles prediction

By means of density functional theory computations, we predicted two novel two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, namely P₂X (X=C, Si) monolayers with pentagonal configurations. Their structures, stabilities, intrinsic electronic, and optical properties as well as the effect of external strain to the electronic properties have been systematically examined. Our computations showed that these P₂C and P₂Si monolayers have rather high thermodynamic, kinetic, and thermal stabilities, and are indirect semiconductors with wide bandgaps (2.76 eV and 2.69 eV, respectively) which can be tuned by an external strain. These monolayers exhibit high absorptions in the UV region, but behave as almost transparent layers for visible light in the electromagnetic spectrum. Their high stabilities and exceptional electronic and optical properties suggest them as promising candidates for future applications in UV-light shielding and antireflection layers in solar cells.     

Electron loss spectroscopy study of the growth by laser ablation of ultra-thin diamond-like films on Si(100)

Carbon films with thicknesses up to 10 monolayers (ML) have been grown on Si(100) substrates by means of laser ablation of graphite under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. The early stages of the growth have been characterized by Auger-electron (AES), electron-energy-loss (EELS) and ion-scattering (ISS) spectroscopies. EELS and AES can be used to qualitatively distinguish between the graphitic or diamond-like character of the films. The effect of submonolayer coverages on the surface electronic density of the silicon substrate has also been investigated. Carbon does not diffuse into silicon for room temperature depositions. Annealing at 950 °C causes graphitization and the formation of silicon carbide together with an intermixing of C and Si.     

Triangular lattices of charge-and spin-density waves in chemisorbed metal monolayers on the surface of diamond structure semiconductors

The electronic spectrum of a planar triangular lattice is analyzed, and the possible occurrence of charge (CDWs) and spin density waves (SDWs) in the lattice is discussed. Commensurate CDW and SDW structures of two types are considered in the weak and strong electron-electron interaction approximations. The CDW and SDW models are applied to the specific case of chemisorbed metal monolayers on the (111) surface of diamond structure semiconductors with a coverage close to 1/3.