Soft Deposition of Organic Molecules Based on Cluster-Induced Desorption for the Investigation of On-Surface and Surface-Mediated Reactions.

Desorption/ionization induced by neutral clusters (DINeC) was employed for the soft transfer of organic and biomolecules, such as porphyrins and peptides, from a bulk sample onto any substrate of choice. Qualitative analysis of the deposition technique was performed by means of mass spectrometry, demonstrating that the deposited molecules remained intact due to the soft nature of the transfer process. Deposition rates were studied quantitatively using a quartz crystal microbalance; layers of intact biomolecules ranging from the submonolayer regime up to a few monolayers in thickness were realized.