Quasiparticle spectra and excitons of organic molecules deposited on substrates: G0W0-BSE approach applied to benzene on graphene and metallic substrates

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Vito Despoja
• Author: Ivor Lončarić
• Author: D. J. Mowbray
• Author: Leonardo Marušić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Science; (Department of Physics)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: NATURAL SCIENCES; Physics

Abstract (english)

We present an alternative methodology for calculating the quasiparticle energy, energy loss, and optical spectra of a molecule deposited on graphene or a metallic substrate. To test the accuracy of the method it is first applied to the isolated benzene (C_6H_6) molecule. The quasiparticle energy levels and especially the energies of the benzene excitons (triplet, singlet, optically active and inactive) are in very good agreement with available experimental results. It is shown that the vicinity of the various substrates [pristine/doped graphene or (jellium) metal surface] reduces the quasiparticle highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gap by an amount that slightly depends on the substrate type. This is consistent with the simple image theory predictions. It is even shown that the substrate does not change the energy of the excitons in the isolated molecule. We prove (in terms of simple image theory) that energies of the excitons are indeed influenced by two mechanisms which cancel each other. We demonstrate that the benzene singlet optically active (E1u) exciton couples to real electronic excitations in the substrate. This causes it substantial decay, such as Γ≈174 meV for pristine graphene and Γ≈362 meV for metal surfaces as the substrate. However, we find that doping graphene does not influence the E_1u exciton decay rate.

• Keywords (english): organic molecule; optical spectra; GW-BSE
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review - international
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Physical review B: Condensed matter and materials physics
• Numbering: vol. 88, no. 23, 235437
• p-ISSN: 1098-0121
• e-ISSN: 1550-235X
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.88.235437
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:217:921963
• Publication: 2013
• Document URL: https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.88.235437
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Public note: Copyright (2013) by the American Physical Society. Received 5 September 2013; revised manuscript received 4 November 2013; published 31 December 2013.
• Created on: 2019-11-27 16:15:40