Mesoscopic self-organization of a self-assembled supramolecular rectangle on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and Au(111) surfaces
Jian-Ru Gong, Li-Jun Wan, Qun-Hui Yuan, Chun-Li Bai, Hershel Jude, and Peter J. Stang
A self-assembled supramolecular metallacyclic rectangle was investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and Au(111) surfaces. The rectangles spontaneously adsorb on both surfaces and self-organize into well ordered adlayers. On highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, the long edge of the rectangle stands on the surface, forming a 2D molecular network. In contrast, the face of the rectangle lays flat on the Au(111) surface, forming linear chains. Hence the molecular self-organization of the supramolecular metallacyclic rectangle on solid surfaces can be tuned by the appropriate choice of substrate materials. The defined conformation of the molecules with special properties will be significant for the fabrication of surface nanodevices.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2005, 102(4), 971-974.
Figure 1. STM image of the rectangle adlayer on HOPG, showing the underlying lattice of HOPG in the lower left corner. (Vbias= 758 mV, Itip= 684 pA)
Figure 2. STM image of the rectangle adlayer, showing the underlying Au(111) lattice in the lower left corner, and an individual rectangle is shown in the upper right corner. (Vbias= 50 mV, Itip= 1.698 nA)
