Adsorption Selectivities between Hydroxypyridine and Pyridone Adsorbed on the Ge(100) Surface: Conjugation and Geometric Configuration Effects on Adsorption Structures

Abstract

The most stable adsorption structures and their corresponding energies of 4-pyridone, 4-hydroxypyridine, 2-pyridone and 2-hydroxypyridine have been investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation and high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES). We confirmed that between the two reaction centers of 4- and 2-pyridone, only 0 atom of carbonyl functional group can act as a Lewis base while both the two reaction centers of 4- and 2-hydroxypyridine (tautomers of 4- and 2-pyridone) can successfully function as a Lewis base. On the other hand, owing to their molecular structures, there is a remarkable difference between the adsorption structures of 4- and 2-hydroxypyridine. Through the analysis of the N 1s and O 1s core level spectra obtained using HRPES, we also could corroborate that two different adducts coexist on the surface at room temperature due to their activation energy investigating the coverage dependent variation of bonding configurations when these molecules are adsorbed on the Ge(100) surface.