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arXiv · 2005.01905

{\AA}ngstr\"om-resolved Interfacial Structure in Organic-Inorganic Junctions

Craig P. Schwartz·Sumana L. Raj·Sasawat Jamnuch·Chris J. Hull·Paolo Miotti·Royce K. Lam·Dennis Nordlund·Can B. Uzundal·Chaitanya Das Pemmaraju·Riccardo Mincigrucci·Laura Foglia·Alberto Simoncig·Marcello Coreno·Claudio Masciovecchio·Luca Giannessi·Luca Poletto·Emiliano Principi·Michael Zuerch·Tod A. Pascal·Walter S. Drisdell·Richard J. Saykally
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Abstract

Charge transport processes at interfaces which are governed by complex interfacial electronic structure play a crucial role in catalytic reactions, energy storage, photovoltaics, and many biological processes. Here, the first soft X-ray second harmonic generation (SXR-SHG) interfacial spectrum of a buried interface (boron/Parylene-N) is reported. SXR-SHG shows distinct spectral features that are not observed in X-ray absorption spectra, demonstrating its extraordinary interfacial sensitivity. Comparison to electronic structure calculations indicates a boron-organic separation distance of 1.9 {\AA}, wherein changes as small as 0.1 {\AA} result in easily detectable SXR-SHG spectral shifts (ca. 100s of meV). As SXR-SHG is inherently ultrafast and sensitive to individual atomic layers, it creates the possibility to study a variety of interfacial processes, e.g. catalysis, with ultrafast time resolution and bond specificity.

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Craig P. Schwartz, Sumana L. Raj, Sasawat Jamnuch, Chris J. Hull, Paolo Miotti, Royce K. Lam, Dennis Nordlund, Can B. Uzundal, Chaitanya Das Pemmaraju, Riccardo Mincigrucci, Laura Foglia, Alberto Simoncig, Marcello Coreno, Claudio Masciovecchio, Luca Giannessi, Luca Poletto, Emiliano Principi, Michael Zuerch, Tod A. Pascal, Walter S. Drisdell, Richard J. Saykally. 2020-05-05. {\AA}ngstr\"om-resolved Interfacial Structure in Organic-Inorganic Junctions. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.096801

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