Adsorption structure determination of a large polyaromatic trithiolate on Cu(111): combination of LEED-I(V) and DFT-vdW

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2013 Jul 14;15(26):11054-60. doi: 10.1039/c3cp50752a. Epub 2013 May 29.

Abstract

The adsorption geometry of 1,3,5-tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene (TMB) on Cu(111) is determined with high precision using two independent methods, experimentally by quantitative low energy electron diffraction (LEED-I(V)) and theoretically by dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT-vdW). Structural refinement using both methods consistently results in similar adsorption sites and geometries. Thereby a level of confidence is reached that allows deduction of subtle structural details such as molecular deformations or relaxations of copper substrate atoms.