Template-Assisted Assembly: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of Solvent-Dependent Adlattices of Alkyl-Derivatized Tetrathiafulvalene

The self-assembly of an adsorbate as a function of the strength of solvent–substrate adsorption is an important yet relatively unexplored subject. In this study, how the strength of solvent–substrate adsorption and solvent–solvent attraction affects the assembly of tetrakis(octadecylthio)tetrathiafu...

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Published inLangmuir Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 382 - 388
Main Authors Lee, Shern-Long, Chu, Yi-Chen, Wu, Hung-Jen, Chen, Chun-hsien
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 10.01.2012
Subjects
adsorption
alkanes
chemical interactions
Chemistry
Exact sciences and technology
General and physical chemistry
graphene
Interfaces: Adsorption, Reactions, Films, Forces
monitoring
scanning tunneling microscopy
solvents
Surface physical chemistry
toluene
Attraction
Self assembly
Hydrocarbon
In situ
Toluene
Strong interaction
Template
Intermolecular interaction
Substrate
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Adsorption
Alkyl
Alkane
Graphite
Benzenic compound
Structure
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Summary:The self-assembly of an adsorbate as a function of the strength of solvent–substrate adsorption is an important yet relatively unexplored subject. In this study, how the strength of solvent–substrate adsorption and solvent–solvent attraction affects the assembly of tetrakis(octadecylthio)tetrathiafulvalene (1) is scrutinized by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). For solvents with strong intermolecular interactions and adsorption onto graphite, such as long n-alkanes (C n H2n+2, n ≥ 13), STM reveals that the solvent molecules form lamellae which become a template to direct the assembly of 1 into one-dimensional arrays. The lengths of one of the unit cell vectors for the assemblies are increased and well correlated with the solvent sizes. In situ STM monitoring of 1 introduced onto graphite with preadsorbed n-tetradecane adlattices shows that the developed assemblies of 1 have striped features aligned parallel to the underlying template. In contrast, for solvents with weak adsorption, such as short n-alkanes (C n H2n+2, n ≤ 12), toluene, and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, the adlattice structures of 1 are solvent-independent.
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ISSN:0743-7463
1520-5827
1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/la203148h