Surface chemistry of five-membered aromatic ring molecules containing two different heteroatoms on Si(111)-7 x 7

The surface chemistry of three representative aromatic molecules containing two different heteroatoms isoxazole, oxazole, and thiazole on Si(111)-7 x 7 was studied. These molecules exhibit different competition and selectivity for multiple reaction channels with this surface, determined by a combination of molecular electronic and structural factors. Isoxazole is chemically attached to Si(111)-7 x 7 through both dative-bond addition and [4 + 2]-like cycloaddition. Oxazole chemisorbs on Si(111)-7 x 7 through both dative-bond addition and [2 + 2]-like cycloaddition. The kinetically favored [2 + 2]-like cycloadduct at low temperature is thermally converted into the thermodynamically preferred [4 + 2]-like cycloadduct at a temperature higher than 300 K. Thiazole is chemically bound to this surface only through formation of a Si...N dative bond at low temperature. This dative-bonded molecule is thermally converted into a [4 + 2]-like cycloadduct. The reaction channels of the three five-membered aromatic molecules containing two different heteroatoms (isoxazole, oxazole, and thiazole) and of the aromatic molecules containing only one heteroatom (pyridine, pyrrole, furan, and thiophene) are compared and analyzed for a thorough understanding of the reaction mechanisms of various heterocyclic aromatic molecules on this surface. The intrinsic connection between surface reaction mechanism and molecular electronic structure is demonstrated. This includes the distribution of electron density on the molecular ring determined by the geometric arrangement of the heteroatoms, the electronegativity of the heteroatoms, and the electronic contribution of the heteroatoms to formation of aromatic pi conjugation, as well as the molecular polarity.