Metal-phthalocyanine chains on the Au(110) surface: Interaction states versus d-metal states occupancy

The formation of long-range ordered organometallic structures has been demonstrated for metalphthalocyanines (MPcs) with the metal M belonging to the 3d series (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn) deposited on the nanostructured template Au (110) by low-energy electron diffraction. The interaction of the molecular macro-cycles of the regularly spaced MPc chains in the gold channels stabilizes the planar geometry, producing interface electronic states, as observed by high-resolution ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The MPc interaction with the substrate is further strengthened for FePc and CoPc molecules, where the central metal d orbitals are directly involved in the interaction process giving rise to interaction states close to the Fermi level.