title: Vacancy patterning and patterning vacancies: controlled self-assembly of fullerenes on metal surfaces.
abstract: A density functional theory study accounting for van der Waals interactions reveals the potential of metal surface vacancies as anchor points for the construction of user-defined 2D patterns of adsorbate molecules via a controlled self-assembly process. Vice versa, energetic criteria indicate the formation of regular adsorbate-induced vacancies after adsorbate self-assembly on clean surfaces. These processes are exemplified by adsorbing C₆₀ fullerene on Al(111), Au(111), and Be(0001) surfaces with and without single, triple, and septuple atom pits. An analysis of vacancy-adatom formation energetics precedes the study of the adsorption processes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ion Physics and Applied Physics, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. michael.probst@uibk.ac.at.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Viñes
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Illas
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ritter
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hagelberg
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Probst