Sulfur versus oxygen reactivity of organic molecules at the Ge(100)-2 x 1 surface

The adsorption behavior of sulfur- versus oxygen-containing organic molecules, including ethanol, ethanethiol, diethyl ether, and diethyl sulfide, at the Ge(100)-2 x 1 surface was investigated using a combination of multiple internal reflection infrared (MIR-IR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). The results show that ethanol and ethanethiol both adsorb via Ch-H dissociation at 310 K, where Ch (chalcogen) is either S or O. DFT calculations indicate that S-H dissociation is both kinetically and thermodynamically favored over O-H dissociation. IR spectra of diethyl ether and diethyl sulfide reveal that both molecules adsorb via dative bonding through the heteroatom for temperatures up to approximately 255 and 335 K, respectively, and reversibly desorb at higher temperatures. From these desorption temperatures, the S-Ge dative bond of a sulfide is calculated to be 5.9 kcal/mol stronger than the O-Ge dative bond of an ether, a trend consistent with results from DFT calculations. Moreover, for all of the molecules studied, SGe dative bonds are found to be stronger than O-Ge dative bonds, with the magnitude of the difference increasing with substitution of bulkier groups on the Ch atom of the adsorbate. Calculations on diethyl selenide show that the Se-Ge dative bond is slightly stronger than the S-Ge dative bond.