Anisotropic growth of the thiophene-based layer on Si(111)–B

Abstract

The formation of large assemblies on the Si(111)–B surface is discussed with the help of STM simulations and DFT calculations. Although highly regular assemblies of DTB10B along the Si row direction are observed, the existence of two herringbone isomers introduces a lower periodicity within the 2D molecular network. The formation of herringbone units is explained by weak intermolecular interactions while the 1D assembling depends mainly on the interactions of the C₁₀ side chains with the Si(111)–B surface.