Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Mesoscopic chiral reshaping of the Ag(110) surface induced by the organic molecule PVBA
J I Pascual1, J V Barth, G Ceballos
1Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. pascual@physik.fu-berlin.de
Abstract:
We report scanning tunneling microscopy observations on the restructuring of a Ag(110) surface induced by the molecule 4-[trans-2-(pyrid-4-yl-vinyl)]benzoic acid (PVBA). Our data reveal that the surface undergoes a mesoscopic step faceting following exposure to submonolayer coverages and thermal activation. A sawtooth arrangement evolves implying long-range mass transport of substrate atoms and forming a regular arrangement of kink sites. Its formation is associated with the molecules' functional headgroups forming carboxylates with [100] Ag microfacets at step edges, and eventually operating to reshape the surface morphology. Interestingly, the resulting microfacets act as chiral templates for the growth of supramolecular PVBA structures. Theoretical modeling based on ab initio results indicates that chiral recognition processes discriminating between the two enantiomers of adsorbed PVBA molecules occur in this process.
More Related Videos
09:43Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
11:00Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface
Published on: October 2, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Prochirality
Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of Allyl Vinyl Ethers: Claisen Rearrangement
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of 1,5-Dienes: Cope Rearrangement
Chirality
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration