Quantitative determination of a model organic/insulator/metal interface structureElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, additional STM, XPS and XSW data. See DOI: 10.1039/c8nr06387g

By combining X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray standing waves and scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigate the geometric and electronic structure of a prototypical organic/insulator/metal interface, namely cobalt porphine on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride ( h -BN) on Cu(111). Specifically, we determine the adsorption height of the organic molecule and show that the original planar molecular conformation is preserved in contrast to the adsorption on Cu(111). In addition, we highlight the electronic decoupling provided by the h -BN spacer layer and find that the h -BN-metal separation is not significantly modified by the molecular adsorption. Finally, we find indication of a temperature dependence of the adsorption height, which might be a signature of strongly-anisotropic thermal vibrations of the weakly bonded molecules. The interfaces of a prototypical organic/insulator/metal system (Co-P/ h -BN/Cu(111)) are characterized quantitatively by means of XPS, XSW and STM.