Molecular semiconductors are increasingly used in devices, but understanding of elementary nanoscopic processes in molecular film growth is in its infancy. Here we use real-time in situ specular and diffuse X-ray scattering in combination with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to study C60 nucleation and multilayer growth. We determine a self-consistent set of energy parameters describing both intra- and interlayer diffusion processes in C60 growth. This approach yields an effective Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier of EES =110 meV, diffusion barrier of ED =540 meV and binding energy of EB =130 meV. Analysing the particle-resolved dynamics, we find that the lateral diffusion is similar to colloids, but characterized by an atom-like Schwoebel barrier. Our results contribute to a fundamental understanding of molecular growth processes in a system, which forms an important intermediate case between atoms and colloids.
CITATION STYLE
Bommel, S., Kleppmann, N., Weber, C., Spranger, H., Schäfer, P., Novak, J., … Kowarik, S. (2014). Unravelling the multilayer growth of the fullerene C 60 in real time. Nature Communications, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6388
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