TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weber, Cornelia
A1  - Frank, C.
A1  - Bommel, Sebastian
A1  - Rukat, Tammo
A1  - Leitenberger, Wolfram
A1  - Schäfer, Peter
A1  - Schreiber, Frank
A1  - Kowarik, Stefan
T1  - Chain-length dependent growth dynamics of n-alkanes on silica investigated by energy-dispersive x-ray reflectivity in situ and in real-time
JF  - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr
N2  - We compare the growth dynamics of the three n-alkanes C36H74, C40H82, and C44H90 on SiO2 using real-time and in situ energy-dispersive x-ray reflectivity. All molecules investigated align in an upright-standing orientation on the substrate and exhibit a transition from layer-by-layer growth to island growth after about 4 monolayers under the conditions employed. Simultaneous fits of the reflected intensity at five distinct points in reciprocal space show that films formed by longer n-alkanes roughen faster during growth. This behavior can be explained by a chain-length dependent height of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier. Further x-ray diffraction measurements after growth indicate that films consisting of longer n-alkanes also incorporate more lying-down molecules in the top region. While the results reveal behavior typical for chain-like molecules, the findings can also be useful for the optimization of organic field effect transistors where smooth interlayers of n-alkanes without coexistence of two or more molecular orientations are required.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4719530
SN  - 0021-9606
VL  - 136
IS  - 20
PB  - American Institute of Physics
CY  - Melville
ER  -