Self-organized molecular films with long-range quasiperiodic order

ACS Nano. 2014 Apr 22;8(4):3646-53. doi: 10.1021/nn500234j. Epub 2014 Mar 25.

Abstract

Self-organized molecular films with long-range quasiperiodic order have been grown by using the complex potential energy landscape of quasicrystalline surfaces as templates. The long-range order arises from a specific subset of quasilattice sites acting as preferred adsorption sites for the molecules, thus enforcing a quasiperiodic structure in the film. These adsorption sites exhibit a local 5-fold symmetry resulting from the cut by the surface plane through the cluster units identified in the bulk solid. Symmetry matching between the C60 fullerene and the substrate leads to a preferred adsorption configuration of the molecules with a pentagonal face down, a feature unique to quasicrystalline surfaces, enabling efficient chemical bonding at the molecule-substrate interface. This finding offers opportunities to investigate the physical properties of model 2D quasiperiodic systems, as the molecules can be functionalized to yield architectures with tailor-made properties.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.