Bound excitons and many-body effects in x-ray absorption spectra of azobenzene-functionalized self-assembled monolayers

We study x-ray absorption spectra of azobenzene-functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), investigating excitations from the nitrogen K edge. Azobenzene with H-termination and functionalized with CF3 groups is considered. The Bethe-Salpeter equation is employed to compute the spectra, including excitonic effects, and to determine the character of the near-edge resonances. Our results indicate that core-edge excitations are intense and strongly bound: Their binding energies range from about 6 to 4 eV, going from isolated molecules to densely-packed SAMs. Electron-hole correlation rules these excitations, while the exchange interaction plays a negligible role.