title: Do two-dimensional "noble gas atoms" produce molecular honeycombs at a metal surface?
abstract: Anthraquinone self-assembles on Cu(111) into a giant honeycomb network with exactly three molecules on each side. Here we propose that the exceptional degree of order achieved in this system can be explained as a consequence of the confinement of substrate electrons in the pores, with the pore size tailored so that the confined electrons can adopt a noble-gas-like two-dimensional quasi-atom configuration with two filled shells. Formation of identical pores in a related adsorption system (at different overall periodicity due to the different molecule size) corroborates this concept. A combination of photoemission spectroscopy with density functional theory computations (including van der Waals interactions) of adsorbate-substrate interactions allows quantum mechanical modeling of the spectra of the resultant quasi-atoms and their energetics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wyrick
authors.forename: Dae-Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dezheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Zhihai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Wenhao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yeming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berland
authors.forename: Yong Su
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rotenberg
authors.forename: Miaomiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hyldgaard
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Einstein
authors.forename: Ludwig
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartels
mesh_terms: D000880:Anthraquinones / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010316:Particle Size; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000880:Anthraquinones; D005740:Gases; D003300:Copper