Features of the Fluorination of the Au(111) Surface by Fluorofullerene Molecules

The possibility of using C₆₀F₄₈ fluorofullerene molecules as sources of fluorine in reactions involving Au(111) has been demonstrated. Ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies have shown that C₆₀F₄₈ molecules lose some fluorine atoms with time, forming molecules with the stoichiometric composition close to C₆₀F₃₆ fluorofullerene, which is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data. The interaction of fluorine with the Au(111) surface occurs only under islands formed by fluorofullerene molecules losing some fluorine atoms. It has been shown that a С₆₀F₁₈ molecule does not react with the Au(111) surface. At the submonolayer coating of the gold surface with С₆₀F₁₈ fluorofullerene, the “herringbone” ( \(22 \times \sqrt 3 \) ) reconstruction characteristic of the clean Au(111) surface remains unchanged both in the region free of formed fluorofullerene islands and under them, and С₆₀F₁₈ molecules keep their initial configuration in time.