Chemical imaging of terrace-based active sites on gold

Scanning tunneling microscopy data of a mixed monolayer comprised of a 40:60 ratio of H8Si8O12 and C6H13-H7Si8O12 clusters on gold are presented. The images display a composite monolayer surface with well-defined domain regions of the individual components. Holes present at face-centered cubic (fcc) sites of the starting Au/H7Si8O12 adsorbate layer indicate the location of active sites for impinging C6H13-H7Si8O12 clusters. Adsorption of a C6H13-H7Si8O12 cluster likely yields a mobile hydrogen atom available to recombine with and desorb an adjacent H8Si8O12 cluster. Hydrogen atom diffusion along substrate [121] directions is the proposed pattern formation mechanism of the mixed monolayer. Imaging of the spherosiloxane cluster domains identifies a novel terrace-based active site located in the fcc regions of the Au(111) 23 x square root3 surface reconstruction.