Partial restoration of aromaticity of pentacene-5,7,12,14-tetrone on Cu(111)

The π-conjugation of organic molecules can be strongly influenced when functional groups are added to a molecule, for example when pentacene is converted into pentacene-5,7,12,14-tetrone (P4O) by substitution of four H-atoms with four O-atoms, leading to four CO double bonds. In fact, although free P4O resembles the parent hydrocarbon pentacene structurally at a first glance, its electronic properties differ drastically and can be more accurately described by three benzene units connected via four carbonyl groups. If P4O is deposited onto Cu(111), the electronic interaction across the interface has previously been reported to fully restore the π-conjugation through a weakening of the CO double bonds and a redistribution of electrons, both of which have been explained with the model of surface-induced aromatic stabilization. Here, we observe for the case of P4O on Cu(111) that the molecule does not exhibit full π-conjugation upon interaction with the surface, likely because of the special electronic nature of the hybridized P4O on Cu(111). Our results are derived from CO-functionalized noncontact atomic force microscopy measurements in combination with dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations yielding bond lengths and molecular geometries. To characterize the aromaticity, we apply the harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity.