title: Effect of substrate temperature on the epitaxial growth of oriented n-alkane thin films on graphite.
abstract: A complex orientational morphology is observed when n-alkane thin films are vapor deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surfaces. Substrate temperature can be used to tune the orientation and morphology of n-alkane thin films. The molecular orientation changes from lateral to normal to the surface when the substrate temperature is raised sufficiently. Under specific substrate temperature conditions, the n-alkane molecules are aligned in the plane of the sample surface, in directions reflecting the 6-fold symmetry of the graphite substrate. A series of different morphologies, from uniform thin films to oriented bars, are observed as a function of chain length and substrate temperature. The systematic evolution of these oriented morphologies is mapped as a function of deposition conditions, and the kinetic and thermodynamic factors that govern the formation of different in-plane and normal domains are considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Mitra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masnadi
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Urquhart
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D008853:Microscopy; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; C009139:pyrolytic carbon; D002244:Carbon; D006108:Graphite