Probing the ultrafast electron transfer at the CuPc/Au(111) interface

Core-hole clock spectroscopy and near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure measurements have been used to investigate the ultrafast electron transfer dynamics at the Copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc)/Au(111) interface. It was found that the strong electronic coupling between the first layer of CuPc molecules and Au(111) substrate favors ultrafast electron transfer from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the CuPc molecules to the conduction band of Au(111) in the time scale of similar to 6 fs. In contrast, the intermolecular electron transfer within multilayers of CuPc molecules via the weak van der Waals interaction was much slower.