title: Coverage-dependent formation of chiral ethylthiolate-Au complexes on Au(111).
abstract: We studied the coverage-dependent self-assembly of the flat-lying phase of ethylthiolate on Au(111). At low coverage, we observed the formation of short stripes of chiral Au-(SC(2)H(5))(2) complexes that arrange in a disordered phase. The latter grow partly at the expense of the native Au(111) surface reconstruction, which is fully lifted for a coverage of ∼0.60 ML. We found that the lift of the reconstruction and evaporation from step edges are competing adatom sources. Close to saturation coverage (0.70 to 0.75 ML), large, well-ordered domains with a (8 × √3)rectangular superstructure formed. Alternation of chirality was found in adjacent stripes as already reported for other short alkanethiolates. We suggest that, because of a simple geometrical consideration, the chirality should, on the contrary, be preserved in the stripe phase of longer alkanethiolates.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, IM2NP, CNRS UMR 6242, Campus de Saint-Jérôme, Case 142, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France. sylvain.clair@im2np.fr
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clair
authors.forename: Yousoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawai
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D006046:Gold