Revealing the buried interface: para-sexiphenyl thin films grown on TiO2(110)

Abstract

The thickness dependent optical and electronic structure of para-sexiphenyl thin films grown on TiO₂(110) at around 400 K reveals that the substrate is first wet by one monolayer of molecules lying with their long axis parallel to the [001] direction of the substrate, while the molecules in subsequent layers are almost standing upright. Whilst ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) is sensitive to the molecules in the outermost layer, reflection difference spectroscopy (RDS) shows that the molecules at the buried interface do not dewet and maintain the orientation of the original wetting monolayer.