ABSTRACT
Metal complexes at surfaces and interfaces play an important role in many areas of modern technology, including catalysis, sensors, and organic electronics. An important aspect of these interfaces is the possible exchange of the metal center, because this reaction can drastically alter the properties of the metal complex and thus of the interface. Here, we demonstrate that such metal exchange reactions are indeed possible and can proceed already at moderate temperatures even in the absence of solvents. Specifically, we studied the redox transmetalation of a monolayer of lead(ii)-tetraphenylporphyrin (PbTPP) with copper from a Cu(111) surface under ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) conditions using multiple surface-sensitive techniques. Temperature-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals that the Pb/Cu exchange starts already below 380 K and is complete at 600 K. The identity of the reaction product, CuTPP, is confirmed by mass spectrometric detection in a temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) experiment. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) sheds light on the adsorbate structure of PbTPP at 300 K and uncovers the structural changes accompanying the transmetalation and side-reactions of the phenyl substituents. Moreover, individual free Pb atoms are observed as a product of the metal exchange.
ABSTRACT
A solvent-free dilithium porphyrin was synthesized by direct reaction of free-base meso-tetraphenylporphyrin with elemental lithium in ultra-high vacuum. The reaction product dilithium tetraphenylporphyrin was studied by temperature-programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). The solid-state reaction is thermodynamically favored, according to density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
