We have investigated the molecular orientation and electronic structures of nonplanar vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) on the Si( 111)-(7 × 7) and Ag(111) surfaces by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The VOPc molecule adsorbs on Ag(111) in a parallel orientation to the surface with an oxygen-up configuration. A strong interaction between the N and C atoms of VOPc and surface Ag atoms is observed at the interface, although no marked change in the electronic state is observed for the V atom, similarly to the case for VOPc in a multilayer. On the other hand, the chemical interaction of the O atom of VOPc with the surface Si atoms favors the oxygen-down configuration. This chemical interaction causes the cleavage of the VO π bond and facilitates electron charge transfer to the V−N−C molecular orbitals. Such intermediation of the oxygen atom between the V atom and Si surface suppresses the direct interaction between them, and the spin magnetic moment of V remains the same as that of bulk VOPc molecules.

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Vanadium phthalocyanine (VPc) monolayers and multilayers were synthesized on Ag(111), and the electronic and magnetic states of an unachieved VPc with a divalent state of V were investigated. The VPc monolayer was fabricated by directly depositing the V atoms on a metal-free phthalocyanine (H 2 Pc) monolayer under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. The VPc multilayer was synthesized by repeated VPc monolayer deposition and subsequent sample annealing at approximately 450 K. The N 1s X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of these samples showed a remarkable reduction in the peak assigned to H-bonded N atoms, concomitant with the appearance of a new peak attributed to V-bonded N atoms close to the peak of iminic N. Additionally, the oxidation state of V estimated from the V 2p XPS peak position corresponded to 1.6 and 2.4 in the monolayer and multilayer samples, respectively. These results clearly imply that VPc monolayers and multilayers were successfully obtained. The main ground-state electronic configuration of the V center was found to be 2 E g by angle-dependent V L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements suggest that this 2 E g state was mixed with the 2 A 1g state by spin−orbit coupling in the ground state. Data revealed that VPc shows a paramagnetic state on the Ag surface and in an H 2 Pc film but an antiferromagnetic state in the multilayer. Partial electron charge transfer was also observed from the Ag surface to the V center at the VPc/Ag(111) interface, leading to a significant decrease in XMCD signals in the monolayer.