Ground State and Magnetic Properties of Iron Phthalocyanine Thin Films Grown on a Monolayer Graphene Sheet

We investigated the ground state, molecular orientation, and spin orientation of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) thin films grown on a monolayer graphene sheet by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure revealed that the molecular orientation of FePc on the graphene sheet was roughly flat-lying, whereas its orientation on silicon oxide was relatively perpendicular. Magnetic anisotropy was found to be significantly altered due to a change in the molecular orientation.