title: Self-assembly of an octanethiol monolayer on a gold-stepped surface.
abstract: We investigate the influence of the native staircase nanostructure of a Au(111) vicinal surface upon the self-assembly of alkylthiols. Through a comparison with standard alkylthiol SAMs deposited on Au(111) flat surfaces, we show that on the vicinal surface the octanethiol monolayer (OT SAM) reproduces the nanopatterned staircase structure, giving rise to a new kind of molecular layer self-ordered on the nanometer scale. The SAM's structure is determined by UHV STM and PM-IRRAS measurements and exhibits a specific behavior relative to the nanostructured substrate. The differences from the film grown on Au(111) are attributed to the influence of step edges on the molecular packing, leading to a specific 2D crystallographic order through the step edges.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris Diderot , Interfaces, Traitements, Organisation et Dynamique des Systèmes, CNRS UMR 7086, Paris, France. nicolas.battaglini@univ-paris-diderot.fr
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Battaglini
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Repain
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rousset