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Dipole-directed assembly of lines of 1,5-dichloropentane on silicon substrates by displacement of surface charge

Nature Nanotechnology volume 3, pages 222–228 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

One-dimensional nanostructures at silicon surfaces have potential applications in nanoscale devices. Here we propose a mechanism of dipole-directed assembly for the growth of lines of physisorbed dipolar molecules. The adsorbate chosen was a halide, in preparation for the patterned imprinting of halogen atoms. Using scanning tunnelling microscopy, physisorbed 1,5-dichloropentane on Si(100)-2×1 was shown to self-assemble at room temperature into molecular lines that grew predominantly perpendicular to the Si-dimer rows. Line formation was triggered by the displacement of surface charge by the dipolar adsorbate. Experimental and simulated scanning tunnelling microscopy images were in agreement for a range of positive and negative bias voltages. The geometry of the physisorbed molecules and nature of their binding were evident from the scanning tunnelling microscopy images, as interpreted by scanning tunnelling microscopy simulation.

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Figure 1: Self-assembled molecular nanolines at room temperature.
Figure 2: STM images of single nanolines.
Figure 3: Mechanism of formation of the molecular line (theory).
Figure 4: Comparison between theoretical and experimental images.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE) Centre for Photonics, the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovation (CIPI), and the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research (CIFAR) for their support. We thank L. Leung for helpful discussions. W.A.H. thanks the Royal Society for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Institute of Optical Sciences, University of Toronto, 80 St George Street, Toronto, M5S 3H6, Ontario, Canada

    K. R. Harikumar, Tingbin Lim, Iain R McNab & John C. Polanyi

  2. Surface Science Research Centre, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK

    Linda Zotti, Serge Ayissi & Werner A. Hofer

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Contributions

The experiments were performed jointly by K.R.H., T.L., I.R.M. and J.C.P. at the University of Toronto, and the computations by L.Z., S.A. and W.A.H. at the University of Liverpool.

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Correspondence to John C. Polanyi.

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Harikumar, K., Lim, T., McNab, I. et al. Dipole-directed assembly of lines of 1,5-dichloropentane on silicon substrates by displacement of surface charge. Nature Nanotech 3, 222–228 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.65

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