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. 2023 Aug 1;24(15):e202300182.
doi: 10.1002/cphc.202300182. Epub 2023 Jun 19.

Dissociation of N2 on a Si(111)-7x7 Surface at Room Temperature

Elie Geagea  1   2 , Ali Hamadeh  1 , Judicaël Jeannoutot  1 , Frank Palmino  1 , Nicolas Breault  3 , Alain Rochefort  3 , Samar Hajjar-Garreau  4   5 , Carmelo Pirri  4   5 , Christophe M Thomas  6 , Frédéric Chérioux  1
Affiliations

Dissociation of N2 on a Si(111)-7x7 Surface at Room Temperature

Elie Geagea et al. Chemphyschem. .

Abstract

We demonstrate that the strong N2 bond can be efficiently dissociated at low pressure and ambient temperature on a Si(111)-7x7 surface. The reaction was experimentally investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Experimental and density functional theory results suggest that relatively low thermal energy collision of N2 with the surface can facilitate electron transfer from the Si(111)-7x7 surface to the π*-antibonding orbitals of N2 that significantly weaken the N2 bond. This activated N2 triple bond dissociation on the surface leads to the formation of a Si3 N interface.

Keywords: STM; XPS; nitrogen activation; scanning tunneling microscopy; silicon.

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References

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