Quantitative structural determination of the high coverage phase of the benzoate species on Cu(110)

The local adsorption site and molecular orientation of the benzoate species adsorbed on Cu(1 1 0) at 330 K have been determined using O1s scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction. The molecule was found to interact with the surface via the carboxylate group, giving a Cu–O bond length of 1.91 Å. The molecules occupy the short bridge sites (the O atoms being slightly displaced from atop sites) and are aligned along the [ 1 0] azimuth with the molecular plane oriented perpendicular to the surface