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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Using Cyclic Voltammetry, UV-Vis-NIR, and EPR Spectroelectrochemistry to Analyze Organic Compounds
Published on: October 18, 2018
Single-molecule charge transfer and bonding at an organic/inorganic interface: tetracyanoethylene on noble metals
Daniel Wegner1, Ryan Yamachika, Yayu Wang
1Department of Physics, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA. wegner@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
We have studied the structural and electronic properties of tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) molecules on different noble-metal surfaces using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory. Striking differences are observed in the TCNE behavior on Au, Ag, and Cu substrates in the submonolayer limit. We explain our findings by a combination of charge-transfer and lattice-matching properties for TCNE across substrates that results in a strong variation of molecule-molecule and molecule-substrate interactions. These results have significant implications for future organic/inorganic nanoscopic devices incorporating molecule-based magnetism.
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