A novel route to molecular self-assembly. Self-intermixed monolayer phases

Abstract

The stars and stripes: A novel route to highly perfect molecular self-assembly is presented. Depending on the relative surface (Ag(111)) coverage of the two species, subphthalocyanine and C60 (green and yellow in the colored STM image) on an surface, well-ordered intermixed monolayers consisting of 1D chains with 1 nm width or 2D hexagonal patterns are formed. The structural parameters and schematic binary "phase diagram" of this system are deduced from detailed room-temperature STM studies. The most important underlying interactions and the relevant properties of the molecules are discussed qualitatively.