Electronic structure investigation of biphenylene films

Photoelectron Spectroscopy (PS) and Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy have been used to investigate the occupied and empty density of states of biphenylene films of different thicknesses, deposited onto a Cu(111) crystal. The obtained results have been compared to previous gas phase spectra and single molecule Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to get insights into the possible modification of the molecular electronic structure in the film induced by the adsorption on a surface. Furthermore, NEXAFS measurements allowed characterizing the variation of the molecular arrangement with the film thickness and helped to clarify the substrate-molecule interaction.