Diffusion, Rotation, and Surface Chemical Bond of Individual 2H-Tetraphenylporphyrin Molecules on Cu(111)

We address the dynamic behavior and the surface chemical bond of 2H-tetraphenylporphyrin (2HTPP) on Cu(111) around room temperature by variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in ultrahigh vacuum. Between 280 and 345 K, the molecules predominantly display unidirectional diffusion along one of the three densely packed substrate ⟨110⟩ directions, which is attributed to a high site selectivity of the adsorbate−substrate bond. Above 305 K, the diffusion direction is found to change occasionally by ±120°. The activation barriers for the unidirectional diffusion and for rotation of the diffusion direction are determined to 0.71 ± 0.08 and 1.28 ± 0.12 eV, respectively. XPS shows that the iminic nitrogen atoms of 2HTPP interact strongly with the Cu surface. It is postulated that the local bonding situation is similar as in the initial complex (sitting-atop complex), which has previously been observed during the surface-confined in situ metalation of porphyrins.