Surface reaction of sulfur-containing amino acids on Cu(110)

Adsorption behaviors of sulfur-containing amino acids, cysteine, methionine, and cystine molecules on Cu(110) surface were studied by core level photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. We found the following through the systematic comparisons of core level peaks such as S 2p, N 1s, and O 1s from different amino acids. At low coverage regimes, all the molecules form two distinct thiolate species, and their S 2p binding energy difference was about 0.9 eV. The relative populations of the two thiolates were different for different molecules and their coverage, which is due to the different bond strength of the sulfur-containing functional groups. At high coverage regimes, only cysteine molecules form zwitterionic state, which is related to the molecular ordering on Cu(110) surface.