Molecular self-assembly on graphene on SiO2 and h-BN substrates

One of the suggested ways of controlling the electronic properties of graphene is to establish a periodic potential modulation on it, which could be achieved by self-assembly of ordered molecular lattices. We have studied the self-assembly of cobalt phthalocyanines (CoPc) on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene transferred onto silicon dioxide (SiO2) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrates. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments show that, on both substrates, CoPc forms a square lattice. However, on SiO2, the domain size is limited by the corrugation of graphene, whereas on h-BN, single domain extends over entire terraces of the underlying h-BN. Additionally, scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements suggest that CoPc molecules are doped by the substrate and that the level of doping varies from molecule to molecule. This variation is larger on graphene on SiO2 than on h-BN. These results suggest that graphene on h-BN is an ideal substrate for the study of molecular self-assembly toward controlling the electronic properties of graphene by engineered potential landscapes.