STM study of 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine self-assembly on Au(111)

This work reports the self-assembly of 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine (terpy) on Au(111). Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to characterize the modified Au surface. Terpy forms organized domains arising from a structure of parallel periodic chains with a repeat distance of 12 Å. The molecules in a chain are spaced by 4–4.3 Å. The periodicity in a chain indicates that the adsorbed molecules interact through π-stacking and stand vertically on the surface. The STM images of the covered surface are dependent on the tunneling gap resistance, and the data presented were obtained in the range of 5–10 GΩ.