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Molecule length-induced reentrant self-organization of alkanes in monolayers adsorbed on Au(111)
1CEA/DSM/DRECAM/SRSIM, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, F91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
Physical Review Letters
|September 16, 2000
Abstract:
We report the observation by scanning tunneling microscopy of the reentrant self-organization of n-alkanes (C(n)H(2n+2)) in monolayers adsorbed on Au(111) induced by a variation of the chain length. In the investigated range of lengths ( 10=n=38 with even n values), the presence of self-assembled monolayers which consist of a close-packed arrangement of molecules lying flat on the surface is evidenced except for alkanes with 18=n=26. The unexpected transition between ordered and disordered phases is related to the mismatch between Au(111) lattice and the CH2-group period along the chain.