Ni 3d–BN "pi" hybridization at the h-BN/Ni(111) interface observed with core-level spectroscopies

The electronic structure of h-BN films grown on the Ni(111) surface has been studied as a function of film thickness using the synchrotron radiation based spectroscopic techniques: soft x-ray absorption, core-level photoemission and resonant Auger spectroscopy. A manifestation of the strong orbital hybridization between Ni 3d and h-BN pi states has been consistently observed in all spectra, implying a rather strong interfacial interaction between h-BN and the substrate. In the B 1s and N 1s near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure of both bulk h-BN and a single monolayer adsorbed on Ni(111) we observe spectral structures, which can be interpreted as a manifestation of the interlayer conduction-band states of h-BN