The adsorption of molecular acceptors
is a viable method for tuning
the work function of metal electrodes. This, in turn, enables adjusting
charge injection barriers between the electrode and organic semiconductors.
Here, we demonstrate the potential of pyrene-tetraone (PyT) and its
derivatives dibromopyrene-tetraone (Br-PyT) and dinitropyrene-tetraone
(NO2-PyT) for modifying the electronic properties of Au(111)
and Ag(111) surfaces. The systems are investigated by complementary
theoretical and experimental approaches, including photoelectron spectroscopy,
the X-ray standing wave technique, and density functional theory simulations.
For some of the investigated interfaces the trends expected for Fermi-level
pinning are observed, i.e., an increase of the metal work function
along with increasing molecular electron affinity and the same work
function for Au and Ag with monolayer acceptor coverage. Substantial
deviations are, however, found for Br-PyT/Ag(111) and NO2-PyT/Ag(111), where in the latter case an adsorption-induced work
function increase of as much as 1.6 eV is observed. This behavior
is explained as arising from a face-on to edge-on reorientation of
molecules in the monolayer. Our calculations show that for an edge-on
orientation much larger work-function changes can be expected despite
the prevalence of Fermi-level pinning. This is primarily ascribed
to a change of the electron affinity of the adsorbate layer that results
from a change of the molecular orientation. This work provides a comprehensive
understanding of how changing the molecular electron affinity as well
as the adsorbate structure impacts the electronic properties of electrodes.