title: Site- and orientation-selective anchoring of a prototypical molecular building block.
abstract: The controlled anchoring of molecular building blocks on appropriate templates is a major prerequisite for the rational design and fabrication of supramolecular architectures on surfaces. We report on a particularly selective adsorption process of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene on Au(111), which leads to well-controlled adsorption position and orientation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals selective adsorption on monatomic steps in the fcc stacking regions with a specific orientation of 18 degrees between the molecular axis and the step normal. Ab initio calculations for various adsorption sites reveal the lowest total energy for adsorption on a kink site. Energy considerations and the excellent agreement between experimental and simulated images show that adsorption on kink sites is responsible for the specific adsorption angle.
authors: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, 3602 Thun, Switzerland. pascal.ruffieux@empa.ch
authors: Pascal
authors: P
authors: Ruffieux
authors: Krisztian
authors: K
authors: Palotas
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Gröning
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Wasserfallen
authors: Klaus
authors: K
authors: Müllen
authors: Werner A
authors: WA
authors: Hofer
authors: Pierangelo
authors: P
authors: Gröning
authors: Roman
authors: R
authors: Fasel