Multiple options for phenol on Si(111)7 x 7 revealed by high resolution photoemission

In building up molecular circuits and molecule-based devices, it is central to determine how molecules interact with the surface. Here, we explore the behaviour of a bifunctional molecule, i.e. phenol, on Si(111)7 x 7 by high resolution photoemission, comparatively in the C1s, Si2p, VB and O1s energy ranges. We found out that the adsorption is more complex than originally hypothesized with a mixture of dissociative and molecular adsorbates at low exposures, and a preeminence of dissociative adsorbates at higher exposure. The co-existence of these states is different from the Si(100) surface, where the molecular states are readily converted into dissociative ones.