title: Hydrogen-bonded molecular networks of melamine and cyanuric acid on thin films of NaCl on Au(111).
abstract: Self-assembly of organized molecular structures on insulators is technologically very relevant, but in general rather challenging to achieve due to the comparatively weak molecule-substrate interactions. Here the self-assembly of a bimolecular hydrogen-bonded network formed by melamine (M) and cyanuric acid (CA) on ultrathin NaCl films grown on a Au(111) surface is reported. Using scanning tunneling microscopy under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions it is demonstrated that it is possible to exploit strong intermolecular forces in the M-CA system, resulting from complementary triple hydrogen bonds, to grow 2D bimolecular networks on an ultrathin NaCl film that are stable at a relatively high temperature of approximately 160 K and at a coverage below saturation of the first molecular monolayer. These hydrogen-bonded structures on NaCl are identical to the self-assembled structures observed for the M-CA system on Au(111), which indicates that the molecular self-assembly is not significantly affected by the isolating NaCl substrate.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bombis
authors.forename: Nataliya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalashnyk
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laegsgaard
authors.forename: Flemming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Besenbacher
authors.forename: Trolle R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Linderoth
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D014227:Triazines / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014227:Triazines; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D006046:Gold; C004632:cyanuric acid; C011907:melamine