Journal of the American Chemical Society 2014-04-23

Strong carbon-surface dative bond formation by tert-butyl isocyanide on the Ge(100)-2 × 1 surface.

Bonggeun Shong, Keith T Wong, Stacey F Bent

Index: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136(16) , 5848-51, (2014)

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Abstract

Carbon dative bond formation between an organic molecule and a semiconductor surface is reported here for the first time. Our studies show that the adsorption of tert-butyl isocyanide on the (100) surface of germanium, measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption, and density functional theory calculations, occurs via formation of a dative bond to the surface through the isocyanide carbon. The experimentally observed adsorption energy of 26.8 kcal/mol is the largest among any organic molecule dative bonded on the Ge(100)-2 × 1 surface studied to date. The dative-bonded adsorbate is characterized by a N≡C stretching frequency significantly blue-shifted from that of the free molecule. Moreover, the adsorbate N≡C vibrational frequency red-shifts back toward that of the free molecule upon increasing coverage. These spectroscopic effects are attributed to σ-donation of the isocyanide lone pair electrons to the surface.