Molecular tilting and columnar stacking of Fe phthalocyanine thin films on Au(111)

Abstract

Scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopic results at the Fe K edge of Fe phthalocyanine (FePc) thin films grown on Au substrates, together with theoretical calculations, allow us to refine the structure of the film. In particular, we show that the columnar stacking of the FePc molecules is different from that found in bulk α and β phases. Moreover, the molecules do not lay parallel to the surface of the substrate. These structural findings are relevant to understand magnetism of FePc films.