The bonding and electronic structure changes upon adsorption of important functional groups: Glycine on copper

Understanding of the reactivity of bio-organic molecules and their interact ion with metal surfaces is of fundamental importance. Using the simplest am ino acid, glycine, chemisorbed on Cu(110) and the related model adsorbates formate, acetate, and ammonia, we demonstrate how X-ray emission spectrosco py (XES) can be applied in combination with theoretical calculations to inv estigate the contribution to the valence molecular orbitals from each atom in the molecule. The orbitals in glycine that interact with the substrate a re strongly localized on the functional groups,; making the bonding similar to what is found for the model molecules.