Orbital-specific electronic interaction in crystalline films of iron phthalocyanine grown on Au(111) probed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The orbital-specific interfacial and intermolecular interactions in crystalline films of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) grown on an Au(111) surface were studied by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with synchrotron radiation. The temperature-dependent ARPES measurement on the FePc monolayer reveals the formation of the molecule–metal hybrid state together with the Kondo resonance state below the Fermi level. These interface-specific states are derived from the electronic coupling of the Fe 3d orbital in the molecule with the Au(111) surface electron. For the flat-lying FePc multilayer on Au(111), the photon-energy-dependent ARPES spectra reveal the intermolecular valence-band dispersion for the C 2p-derived state, while the Fe 3d-derived state does not show such dispersion, indicating the localized Fe 3d spin state. These orbital-specific interactions play crucial roles in the unique electronic and magnetic properties of FePc.