Direct metalation of a phthalocyanine monolayer on Ag(111) with coadsorbed iron atoms

An ordered monolayer of phthalocyanine on a silver(111) surface reacts with the stoichiometric amount of coadsorbed Fe atoms to form iron(II)-phthalocyanine. This surface-confined redox reaction was studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The formation of iron(II)-phthalocyanine was confirmed by comparison with the directly deposited complex. No side reactions such as the coordination of Fe atoms on the peripheral nitrogen atoms of the phthalocyanine molecules were observed.