Direct observation of chiral metal-organic complexes assembled on a Cu100 surface.
We report single-molecule level STM observations of chiral complexes generated by the assembly of achiral components at a metal surface. Following co-deposition of iron atoms and 1,3,5-tricarboxylic benzoic acid (trimesic acid, TMA) on Cu(100) in ultrahigh vaccum, TMA molecules react with the metal centers, and metal-ligand interactions stabilize R and S chiral complexes which are clearly distinguished by STM.
Messina
Paolo
P
Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörpeforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
Dmitriev
Alexandre
A
Lin
Nian
N
Spillmann
Hannes
H
Abel
Mathieu
M
Barth
Johannes V
JV
Kern
Klaus
K