title: Step-mediated anisotropic adsorption and condensation of tert-butylamine on Cu(111).
abstract: Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied in studying the anisotropic adsorption and condensation of tert-butylamine (t-BA) molecules in the vicinity of the steps on the Cu(111) surface. The preferential adsorption at the upper step edges and uneven distribution of t-BA in the vicinity of the steps illustrate the asymmetric electronic structure of the surface steps. Our observation demonstrates that the adsorption and diffusion of a polar molecule would be significantly mediated by steps on metal surfaces due to the molecule-step interaction and the intermolecular interactions.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Zhongguancun Beiyitiao No. 11, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yumin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang