Orientationally disordered solid monolayers of tetramethylsilane on graphite and a bilayer nature of the 2-D fluid

A calorimetric investigation of the monolayers (MLs) of tetramethylsilane (TMS) adsorbed on graphite demonstrates two remarkable features: (i) occurrence of an orientational order–disorder phase transition in the 2-D solid (at 107 K at the coverage θ<1 and at 138 K at 1<θ<2) accompanied by a large entropy change (ranging from Rln8 to Rln3) depending on the coverage, and (ii) possible formation of a fluid bilayer around 220 K, above the 2-D critical temperature. A high-resolution incoherent neutron scattering experiment reveals a considerable motional disorder in the disordered 2-D solid.     

Low-temperature heat capacity of TMS monolayers adsorbed on graphite and MgO+

The heat capacity obtained below 30 K for the tetramethylsilane monolayers, which are adsorbed either on graphite or on the (100) surface of MgO, is analyzed to investigate the vibrational properties. The 2-D Debye temperatures are approximately 60% of the Debye temperature of the bulk solid (γ -phase), reflecting the dimensionality of lattice vibrations. The contributions from the vibrations perpendicular to the surface as well as the librational motions are determined by fitting the experimental heat capacities. All the results are consistent with those obtained from the incoherent inelastic neutron scattering and the molecular dynamics simulation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.