The adsorption structure of glycine adsorbed on Cu(110); comparison with formate and acetate/Cu(110)

The molecular orientation of an ordered monolayer of glycine adsorbed on Cu(110) has been studied using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS), X-ray Photoelectron Diffraction (XPD), Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and theoretical calculations. in particular, the NEXAFS results are discussed in terms of the spectra of the related molecules ammonia (NH3), formate (HCOO), and acetate (CH3COO) on Cu(110). Whereas the latter two molecules chemisorb in similar geometries, glycine is found to assume a very different chemisorption geometry. Formate and acetate bond through two equivalent oxygen atoms with the molecular plane oriented nearly perpendicular to the surface, aligned along the [1 (1) over bar 0]-azimuth. In the case of adsorbed glycine (NH2CH2COO), the azimuthal orientation is still present, i.e. the bonding oxygen atoms are aligned along the [1 (1) over bar 0]-azimuth, but the molecule is found to bend towards the surface. A second chemisorption bond is formed at the nitrogen end of the molecule, involving copper atoms in the neighboring [1 (1) over bar 0]-row. We therefore have the interesting case of a chemisorption bond involving different functional groups in the same molecule. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.