Simple and complex lattices of N-alkyl fatty acid amides on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface

Langmuir. 2005 Feb 15;21(4):1364-70. doi: 10.1021/la048461b.

Abstract

STM investigations of three N-alkyl fatty acid amide molecules have been carried out to get information of their molecular arrangement on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface. With variable positions of amide along the alkyl chain, complex lattices with different lattice constants were observed. Besides the lattices with a repeat unit matching one or two molecular lengths, a lattice with a repeat unit corresponding to three molecular lengths was found. In addition, the portion of different lattices depends on the length of the shorter alkyl chain. DFT-D calculations point to interactions of antiparallel oriented dipoles due to the amide group, which are distance dependent and thus larger for shorter N-alkyl chains.