Growth of an oligopyridine adlayer on Ag(100) – A scanning tunnelling microscopy study

Abstract

The growth behaviour of the oligopyridine derivative 2-phenyl-4,6-bis(6-(pyridine-2-yl)-4-(pyridine-4-yl)pyridine-2-yl)pyrimidine (2,4′-BTP) on Ag(100) in the sub-monolayer regime was investigated by variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum conditions. Over the entire coverage range, the molecules are adsorbed in a flat lying configuration, with preferential orientations with respect to the 〈110〉 direction of the surface. The azimuth angles are derived using a previously introduced algorithm that fits the positions of the intramolecular N atoms geometrically to the underlying surface lattice (“points-to-lattice fit”) [H.E. Hoster et al., Langmuir 2007, 23, 11570], indicating that the orientation of the admolecules and thus of the adllayer structure with respect to the Ag(100) surface lattice is determined by the 2,4′-BTP−Ag(100) interaction, while intermolecular interactions are decisive for the structure of the adlayer. The results will be compared to other adsorption systems.