Another Hypothesis on the Structure of a Nitrogen Bilayer Adsorbed on Graphite

Abstract

The first results of neutron diffraction studies of monolayers and bilayers of nitrogen adsorbed on graphite were interpreted by Kjems, Passell, Taub, and Dash as a formation of a liquidlike state when the second layer is built. We show that these experimental results may be explained by a tilting of the nitrogen molecules (which are not spherical), the structure of the layer remaining a solidlike state.