A combined DFT/HREELS study of the vibrational modes of terphenylthiol SAMs

Self-assembled monolayers of p -terphenylthiol (TPT, HS-(C 6 H 4 ) 2 -C 6 H 5 ) deposited onto gold can serve as model systems for aromatic lithography resists. Such thin molecular films are suitably probed using high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, due to its high surface sensitivity. Extended energy loss spectra were measured at different probing energies. The TPT monolayer overlapping ν (CH) stretching modes could be modelled by a single effective anharmonic oscillator sustained by a Morse potential energy curve, thanks to the resonant excitation of the associated overtone series at 6 eV. A remarkably good agreement was obtained between the TPT monolayer energy loss spectrum and the computer-simulated infrared vibrational spectrum of the isolated TPT molecule. Density Functional Theory calculations for TPT, fully deuterated TPT and benzenethiol isolated molecules were performed with the exchange correlation functional B3LYP and a dispersion correction, using a triple ζ + polarisation basis set. By comparing the vibrational patterns obtained for these parent systems, (re-)assignments of all the features observed in the TPT self-assembled monolayer energy loss spectrum are discussed. The obtained vibrational assignments can be confidently transposed to other related systems, such as benzenethiol and biphenyl self-assembled monolayers.