Topological Stone–Wales Defects Enhance Bonding and Electronic Coupling at the Graphene/Metal Interface

B. P. Klein, A. Ihle, S. R. Kachel, L. Ruppenthal, S. J. Hall, L. Sattler, S. M. Weber, J. Herritsch, A. Jaegermann, D. Ebeling, R. J. Maurer, G. Hilt, R. Tonner-Zech, A. Schirmeisen, J. M. Gottfried, ACS Nano 16, 11979-11987 (2022)

"Defects in Graphene subtly affect the structural and electronic properties. We perform a detailed joint experiment/theory investigation of molecular precursors of pristine graphene and Stone-Wales defects in graphene to assess the structural and spectroscopic changes imposed by defects."

Direct Experimental Evidence for Substrate Adatom Incorporation into a Molecular Overlayer

P. J. Mouslez, L. A. Rochford, P. T. P. Ryan, P. Blowey, J. Lawrence, D. A. Duncan, H. Hussain, B. Sohail, T.-L. Lee, G. R. Bell, G. Costantini, R. J. Maurer, C. Nicklin, D. P. Woodruff, J. Phys. Chem. C 126, 7346 - 7355 (2022)

"We present the results of a detailed structural study of the Au(111)-F₄TCNQ system, combining surface characterization by STM, low-energy electron diffraction, and soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with quantitative experimental structural information from normal incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) and SXRD, together with dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations. SXRD measurements provide unequivocal evidence for the presence and location of Au adatoms, while the DFT calculations show this reconstruction to be strongly energetically favored"

Adiabatic versus non-adiabatic electron transfer at 2D electrode materials

Dan-Qing Liu, Minkyung Kang, David Perry, Chang-Hui Chen, Geoff West, Xue Xia, Shayantan Chaudhuri, Zachary P. L. Laker, Neil R. Wilson, Gabriel N. Meloni, Marko M. Melander, Reinhard J. Maurer, Patrick R. Unwin, Nature Communications 12, 7110 (2021)

"Using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy, and co-located structural microscopy, the classical hexaamineruthenium (III/II) couple is measured on a graphene-metal electrode. Using model Hamiltonian and constant potential density functional theory, we can rationalize the fact that monolayer graphene shows faster kinetics than bilayer graphene and we are able to identify the electron transfer as dominantly adiabatic."

Nature Portfolio Blogpost

First-principles calculations of hybrid inorganic-organic interfaces: From state-of-the-art to best practice

Oliver T. Hofmann, Egbert Zojer, Lukas Hörmann, Andreas Jeindl, and R. J. Maurer, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 23, 8132-8180 (2021)

"In this review, we discuss how to choose appropriate atomistic representations for the simulation of hybrid inorganic-organic interfaces. We provide tips and tricks on how to efficiently converge the self-consistent field cycle and to obtain accurate geometries. We particularly focus on potentially unexpected pitfalls and the errors they incur. As a summary, we provide a list of best practice rules for interface simulations that should especially serve as a useful starting point for less experienced users and newcomers to the field."

Molecule–Metal Bond of Alternant versus Nonalternant Aromatic Systems on Coinage Metal Surfaces: Naphthalene versus Azulene on Ag(111) and Cu(111)

Benedikt P. Klein, Juliana M. Morbec, Markus Franke, Katharina K. Greulich, Malte Sachs, Shayan Parhizkar, Francois C. Boquet, Martin Schmidt, Samuel J. Hall, Reinhard J. Maurer, Bernd Meyer, Ralf Tonner, Christian Kumpf, Peter Kratzer, and J. Michael Gottfried, J. Phys. Chem. C just accepted, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b08824 (2019)

"The coverage-dependent interaction of Azulene and Naphthalene with Ag(111) and Cu(111) surfaces was studied with the normal-incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) technique, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, UV and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (UPS and XPS), and density functional theory (DFT). We analyse the interaction strength and charge-transfer at the molecule-metal interface by comparing simulated and measured NEXAFS spectra."