Preparation and characterization of non-aromatic ether self-assemblies on a HOPG surface

Alić Stolar, Jasna; Biljan, Ivana; Štefanić, Zoran; Šekutor, Marina (2022) Preparation and characterization of non-aromatic ether self-assemblies on a HOPG surface. Nanotechnology, 33 (35). ISSN 0957-4484

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Abstract

On-surface self-assemblies of aromatic organic molecules have been widely investigated, but the characterization of analogous self-assemblies consisting of fully sp3-hybridized molecules remains challenging. The possible on-surface orientations of alkyl molecules not exclusively comprised of long alkyl chains are difficult to distinguish because of their inherently low symmetry and non-planar nature. Here, we present a detailed study of diamondoid ethers, structurally rigid and fully saturated molecules, which form uniform 2D monolayers on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface. Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), various computational tools, and X-ray structural analysis, we identified the most favorable on-surface orientations of these rigid ethers and accounted for the forces driving the self-organization process. The influence of the oxygen atom and London dispersion interactions were found to be responsible for the formation of the observed highly ordered 2D ether assemblies. Our findings provide insight into the on-surface properties and behavior of non-aromatic organic compounds and broaden our understanding of the phenomena characteristic of monolayers consisting of non-planar molecules.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diamondoids; London dispersion interactions; highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG); ethers ; monolayers
Subjects:	NATURAL SCIENCES > Chemistry > Physical Chemistry NATURAL SCIENCES > Chemistry > Organic Chemistry
Divisions:	Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Division of Physical Chemistry
Projects:	Project title Project leader Project code Project type Diamantoidni sustavi s heteroatomima – priprava i primjena u razvoju naprednih materijala-DiamMat Marina Šekutor UIP-2017-05-9653 HRZZ Centar izvrsnosti u kemiji - CIuK-CIuK Josip Požar; Mirta Rubčić; Ivana Biljan KK.01.1.1.02.0016 EK
Depositing User:	Marina Šekutor
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2025 10:37
URI:	http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/10533
DOI:	10.1088/1361-6528/ac6e72

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