Arrays of double-decker porphyrins on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Three double-decker complexes of cerium(IV) were synthesized, which commonly have a 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-docosyloxyphenyl)porphyrin (C22OPP) moiety as one of the two tetrapyrrole rings. The three complexes-Ce(Pc)(C22OPP), Ce(C22OPP)2, and Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP)-are distinguished by the other rings, which are Pc (=phthalocyanine), C22OPP, and BPEPP (=5,15-bis[4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]porphyrin), respectively. The rate of inter-ring rotation of Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) was estimated to be approximately 3 s(-1) in solution at room temperature. These complexes assemble into ordered arrays at the interface of 1-phenyloctane and the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface, owing to the affinity of the long alkyl chains toward the surface, as revealed by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with molecular resolution. The shape of the upper ring is reflected in the STM image. Thus, Ce(Pc)(C22OPP), Ce(C22OPP)2, and Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) were observed as circular, square, and elliptic features, respectively. Possible molecular arrangements in the array of Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) are proposed by comparing STM images and molecular models. In the mixed arrays of Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) and H2(C22OPP), the double-decker complexes were distinguished by brighter features. Competitive adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption of Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) is less favorable than that of H2(C22OPP) by DeltaG(app) = 2.7 kJ mol(-1). Ce(BPEPP)(C22OPP) molecules appeared elliptic when placed within their own row, while they appeared isotropic when flanked by H2(C22OPP) molecules. Implications of the differences in the observed shapes to the inter-ring rotation are discussed.