STM Investigation of Multicomponent Supramolecular Nanostructures Built by Aromatic Acid Derivatives and Coronene

This work studied the interfacial coassembly behaviors of the aromatic acid 5',5⁗-([2,2'-bithiophene]-5,5'-diyl)bis([1,1':3',1″-terphenyl]-4,4″-dicarboxylic acid) (H₄BDETP) with the introduced tetracarboxylic acid derivative (3',5'-bis(6-carboxynaphthalen-2-yl)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3,5-dicarboxylic acid (BCBDA) or 5',5⁗-(ethyne-1,2-diyl)bis([1,1':3',1″-terphenyl]-4,4″-dicarboxylic acid) (EBTD)) and coronene (COR). Intermolecular interactions and the formation mechanisms of the coassembly structures were investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). H₄BDETP dimers were retained and formed hydrogen bonds with BCBDA or EBTD molecules, leading to the structural transformation of H₄BDETP into a nanoporous structure. When COR molecules were introduced into the H₄BDETP/BCBDA or H₄BDETP/EBTD binary system, COR molecules were adsorbed into suitable nanopores, and three-component host-guest structures were constructed on HOPG.