Carbon-Based and Other Nanostructures Obtained via Cluster-Assembling: A View Combining Electron Spectroscopies and Nanospectroscopies

This work will provide an overview of recent experiments devoted to study the nature and properties of materials obtained in situ via cluster-assembling, by using supersonic cluster beam deposition. This technique has proved to be a powerful tool for assembling nanostructured materials with tailored physical properties, in particular for: 1) carbon-based clusters deposited in situ on appropriate substrates in Ultra High Vacuum compatible conditions; 2) a micro-structured pattern based on pristine carbon-based dots and then promoted to the formation of SiC via in situ thermal annealing; 3) thermo-chemically doped nanostructured TiO2, revealing the possibility to control the band gap of this material. The electronic structure of the systems has been studied combining a wide variety of experimental methods, including valence-band and core-level photoemission, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, Scanning Auger Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy.