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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment
Published on: November 9, 2015
Acetone on silicon (001): ambiphilic molecule meets ambiphilic surface
Oliver Warschkow1, Irene Gao, Steven R Schofield
1Centre for Quantum Computer Technology, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Abstract:
Using density functional theory, we report detailed reaction path calculations for the reaction of acetone with the silicon (001) surface. We identify the key reaction intermediates of dissociative adsorption and the transition states between them. This resolves the identity of the one-dimer intermediate observed in STM experiments and its role in the formation of several two-dimer-wide end products of dissociation. Key to the understanding of the dissociation mechanism is the ambiphilic character of the two reactants, that is the simultaneous expression of electrophilic and nucleophilic reactivities in both the surface and the acetone molecule.
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