Molecular Self-Assembly of Jointed Molecules on a Metallic Substrate: From Single Molecule to Monolayer

TL;DR

This paper explores the self-assembly behavior of large, three-dimensional V-Landers molecules on a copper surface, revealing complex adsorption conformations and the formation of monolayers relevant for nanofabrication.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the self-assembly of complex, large molecules on metallic substrates, expanding understanding beyond small, rigid molecules.

Findings

Observation of diverse adsorption conformations

Formation of ordered monolayer structures

Insights into molecule-surface interaction mechanisms

Abstract

Because of its promising contribution to the bottom-up approach for nanofabrication of complex molecular architectures, self-organization is widely studied nowadays. Numerous studies have tackled supramolecular chirality or low-dimensional molecular nanostructures using in most cases small and rigid molecules adsorbed on metallic substrates. In this situation, self-assembled structures can be understood in relative simple terms considering molecule-molecule versus molecule-substrate interactions. In contrast, the case of large and three-dimensional molecules which can adopt different adsorption conformations is more complex. Here, we investigate the self-assembly of V-Landers molecules (C108H104) on Cu(100) by STM at room temperature under ultrahigh vacuum. This molecule is constituted of a central poly-aromatic board linked by sigma bonds to four 3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl legs.