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Published on: February 15, 2016
Successive Deprotonation Steering the Structural Evolution of Supramolecular Assemblies on Ag(111)
Jiwei Shi1, Zhanbo Li2, Tao Lin2
1Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
Abstract:
In this study, we demonstrate the structural evolution of a two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular assembly system, which is steered by the thermally activated deprotonation of the primary organic building blocks on a Ag(111) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy revealed that a variety of structures, featuring distinct structural, chiral, and intermolecular bonding characters, emerged with the gradual thermal treatments. According to our structural analysis, in combination with density function theory calculations, the structural evolution can be attributed to the successive deprotonation of the organic building blocks due to the inductive effect. Our finding offers a facile strategy towards controlling the supramolecular assembly pathways and provides a comprehensive understanding of the 2D crystal engineering on surfaces.
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