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Corrole derivatives have been recently employed in many applications at the solid–liquid interface. Therefore, the structural arrangement of the molecular layers in direct contact with the liquid is of fundamental interest. We investigated in solution the deposition of molecular layers of the previously prepared water‐soluble phosphorus complex of a 2‐sulfonato‐10‐(4‐sulfonatophenyl)‐5,15‐dimesitylcorrole [see synthesis in our previous paper, M. Naitana et al. Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23, 905–916]. The layer formation of P corroles onto the Au(111) surface was monitored by STM in situ, that is, with the substrate immersed in the solution. Marked differences in the morphology between the organic layer formed on the substrate and that deposited after solvent evaporation (drop casting) are reported. In particular, the coating of gold was more effective and stable in the presence of liquid. Preservation of functionality of the corrole molecules after adsorption was verified. This result validates the relevance of corrole layers at the solid–liquid interface to exploit the peculiar properties of these molecules in real‐world applications. Monitoring of layer formation of a phosphorus corrole onto the Au(111) surface was performed by STM in situ, that is, with the substrate immersed in the solution. Preservation of the functionality of corrole molecules after adsorption was verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis, spectroscopic, and optical properties of the water-soluble phosphorus complex of a 2-sulfonato-10-(4-sulfonatophenyl)-5,15-dimesitylcorrole have been investigated. The compound was prepared by adopting a novel strategy for the corrole sulfonation, leading to the regioselective isomer in an almost quantitative yield. The phosphorus coordination has a key role in determining the corrole substitution pattern, limiting the formation of poly-substituted species, which affected the reaction of the corrole free base. The resulting complex shows excellent optical properties in terms of emission quantum yield, also in polar protic solvents, including water. 31P NMR spectroscopy in CD3OD indicates that the P sulfonate complex has been isolated in a hexacoordinated geometry with two different ligands (L1=-OH, L2=-OCH3), and it is prone to axial ligand exchange with methanol, with no evidence of intermediate pentacoordinated species. The morphological characterization of thin layers of the P corrole deposited onto an Au(111) surface showed that the addition of an intermediate layer of reduced graphene oxide allows for a better control of corrole aggregation, inducing also transformation of the Au(111) reconstructed surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have applied reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) to investigate the rebonded-step (RS) reconstructed strained Ge/Si(105) surface. RAS spectra display a marked peak at 2.1 eV that is completely cancelled after exposure to about 1200 L of molecular oxygen. Ab initio calculations of the RAS signal explain the experimental spectra in terms of optical transitions between filled bulk-like states and empty surface bands. The early stages of exposure of the clean surface to molecular oxygen have been monitored by RAS and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), correlating the evolution of the optical anisotropy to the bonding configuration of the adsorbed gas. Oxygen atoms are proposed to first adsorb onto the arms and later on the head dimers of the 'horseshoe' motifs that comprise the RS reconstruction, thus gradually destroying the local order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]