Building the Chessboard-like Supramolecular Structure on Au (111) Surfaces

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the self-assembly of an anthracene derivative into a chessboard-like supramolecular network on Au (111) surfaces, driven by hydrogen bonding and adsorption interactions, using STM and DFT methods.

Contribution

It reveals the formation mechanism of a novel chessboard-like supramolecular structure on gold surfaces, highlighting the role of hydrogen bonds and molecular interactions.

Findings

Formation of a chessboard-like network covering the Au (111) surface.

The network is based on tetramer units connected by hydrogen bonds.

Hydrogen bonds and adsorption interactions drive the network formation.

Abstract

We investigate an anthracene derivative, 3(5)-(9-anthryl) pyrazole (ANP), self-assembled on the Au (111) surface by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A chessboard-like network structure composed of ANP molecules is found, covering the whole Au (111) substrate. Our STM results and DFT calculations reveal that the formation of chessboard-like networks originates from a basic unit cell, a tetramer structure, which is formed by four ANP molecules connected through C-H-N hydrogen-bonds. The hydrogen bonds inside each tetramer and the molecular adsorption interaction are fundamentally important in providing a driving force for formation of the supramolecular networks.