A vibronic resonance between Au{111} surface states and adsorbed CN vibrations has been predicted, which we target for study. We have formed stable monolayers of cyanide on Au{111} and observe a hexagonal close-packed lattice with a nearest neighbor distance of 3.8±0.5 Å. Cyanide orients normal to the surface attached via a Au-C bond. We show that the substrate-molecule coupling is particularly strong, leading to fast electron transfer from the cyanide molecules to the Au{111} substrate as measured by resonant Auger spectroscopy using the core hole clock method. The CN/Au{111} system is a simple example of a strongly interacting adsorbate-substrate system and will be the subject of a number of further studies to be discussed.

Precious poison: The self-assembly of cyanide on Au{111}

251st National Meeting (2016)

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