Structure determination of disordered organic molecules on surfaces from the Bragg spots of low-energy electron diffraction and total energy calculations

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We show that an analysis of the intensity versus energy variation of Bragg spots due to low-energy electron diffraction from a disordered overlayer of molecules on a crystal surface allows a much more convenient method of determining the local adsorption geometries of such molecules than previously analyzed weak diffuse diffraction patterns. For the case of methanol on Pd(111), we show that the geometry determined by this means from experimental diffraction data is in excellent agreement with the predictions of density functional total energy calculations.