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Self-assembly of a halogenated molecule on oxide-passivated Cu(110)
Mohamed El Garah1, Josh Lipton-Duffin, Jennifer M MacLeod
1Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunication, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec, 1650 boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, QC J3X 1S2, Canada. elgarah@emt.inrs.ca
Abstract:
The supramolecular self-assembly of brominated molecules was investigated and compared on Cu(110) and Cu(110)-O(2×1) surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum. By using scanning tunnelling microscopy, we show that brominated molecules form a disordered structure on Cu(110), whereas a well-ordered supramolecular network is observed on the Cu(110)-O(2×1) surface. The different adsorption behaviors of these two surfaces are described in terms of weakened molecule-substrate interactions on Cu(110)-O(2×1) as opposed to bare Cu(110). The effect of oxygen-passivation is to suppress debromination and it can be a convenient approach for investigating other self-assembly processes on copper-based substrates.
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