Probing the switching state of a surface-mounted azobenzene derivative using femtosecond XUV photoemission

Photoemission spectroscopy using femtosecond XUV light pulses is applied to probe the isomerization state of the molecular switch 3-(4-(4-hexyl-phenylazo)-phenoxy)-propane-1-thiol deposited by liquid phase self-assembly on Au(111). Spectral shifts of valence-electronic signatures that we associate with the carbon C2s orbital enable us to distinguish the trans and the cis isomerization state of the adsorbed molecules. These preliminary results envision the potential to probe reversible switching processes of surface-mounted molecules in real time by tracking the temporal evolution of the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom in a femtosecond XUV photoemission experiment.