Hydrogen-bonded molecular networks of melamine and cyanuric acid on thin films of NaCl on Au(111)

Small. 2009 Oct;5(19):2177-82. doi: 10.1002/smll.200900301.

Abstract

Self-assembly of organized molecular structures on insulators is technologically very relevant, but in general rather challenging to achieve due to the comparatively weak molecule-substrate interactions. Here the self-assembly of a bimolecular hydrogen-bonded network formed by melamine (M) and cyanuric acid (CA) on ultrathin NaCl films grown on a Au(111) surface is reported. Using scanning tunneling microscopy under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions it is demonstrated that it is possible to exploit strong intermolecular forces in the M-CA system, resulting from complementary triple hydrogen bonds, to grow 2D bimolecular networks on an ultrathin NaCl film that are stable at a relatively high temperature of approximately 160 K and at a coverage below saturation of the first molecular monolayer. These hydrogen-bonded structures on NaCl are identical to the self-assembled structures observed for the M-CA system on Au(111), which indicates that the molecular self-assembly is not significantly affected by the isolating NaCl substrate.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling
  • Sodium Chloride / chemistry*
  • Triazines / chemistry*

Substances

  • Triazines
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Gold
  • cyanuric acid
  • melamine