Adlayer of Hydroquinone on Pt(111) in Solution and in a Vacuum Studied by STM and LEED

Hydroquinone (HQ) adlayers were formed on Pt(111) in HF solution and in a vacuum. By using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in solution, it was revealed that HQ formed an ordered structure on Pt(111) with a strong attractive interaction between two adjacent hydroxyl groups in neighboring HQ molecules. After the sample was transferred into a vacuum, low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) measurement was performed, which showed that the (2.56 × 2.56)R16° incommensurate structure of the HQ adlayer was formed in solution. The HQ adlayer on Pt(111) was formed also by vapor deposition, and the identical (2.56 × 2.56)R16° adlayer structure was found by LEED and STM in a vacuum.