Self-assembly of structurally rigid diamondoid esters on a HOPG surface

Burić, Nataša; González Ayani, Cosme; Vuletić, Tomislav; Sohora, Margareta; Štefanić, Zoran; Delač, Ida; Šekutor, Marina (2026) Self-assembly of structurally rigid diamondoid esters on a HOPG surface. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 28 (14). pp. 8467-8477. ISSN 1463-9076

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Abstract

Characterizing assemblies of non-aromatic organic molecules on carrier surfaces is still an underexplored field of nanomaterial design. Here we present a study of on-surface self-assembly for diamondoid ester compounds on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface. Using a combination of experimental and computational tools, we have developed an approach to characterize such non-aromatic molecules that also do not possess long alkyl chains in their structures. AFM imaging visualized the formed on-surface domains and by using the semi-empirical quantum mechanical GFN2-xTB method we could identify the most stable on-surface orientations of the individual molecules, a non-trivial task for non-aromatic compounds. Our synergistic analysis revealed that intermolecular London dispersion interactions enable molecular chains formation, which then arrange into distinct domains of observable structural periodicity. Our findings not only shed light onto self-assembly behavior of diamondoid esters but also provide a more general approach for characterizing currently less explored non-aromatics on carrier surfaces.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diamondoids; London dispersion interactions; highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG); esters; monolayers; self-assembly
Subjects:	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 Funkcionalizirani dvodimenzionalni materijali-Fun2DMat Ida Delač Marion UIP-2020-02-8891 HRZZ Dolazna mobilnost viših asistenata - Ida Delač Ida Delač MOBDOL-2023-08-2165 HRZZ Materijali za čistu energiju, napredni senzori i kvantne tehnologije Milko Jakšić; Mario Stipčević; Mile Ivanda; Marko Kralj PK.1.1.10.0002 EK Potpora vrhunskim istraživanjima Centra izvrsnosti za napredne materijale i senzore- Mile Ivanda; Milko Jakšić; Mario Stipčević; Marko Kralj KK.01.1.1.01.0001 EK Centar za napredne laserske tehnike Damir Aumiler KK.01.1.1.05.0001 EK
Depositing User:	Ivana Vuglec
Date Deposited:	21 Aug 2026 12:38
URI:	https://fulir.irb.hr:/id/eprint/12126
DOI:	10.1039/d6cp00381h

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