Stepwise self-assembly of C60 mediated by atomic scale moiré magnifiers

D.V. Gruznev, A.V. Matetskiy, L.V. Bondarenko, O.A. Utas, A.V. Zotov, A.A. Saranin (), J.P. Chou, C.M. Wei (), M.Y. Lai and Y.L. Wang ()
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D.V. Gruznev: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
A.V. Matetskiy: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
L.V. Bondarenko: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
O.A. Utas: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
A.V. Zotov: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
A.A. Saranin: Institute of Automation and Control Processes
J.P. Chou: Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica
C.M. Wei: Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica
M.Y. Lai: Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica
Y.L. Wang: Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Self-assembly of atoms or molecules on a crystal surface is considered one of the most promising methods to create molecular devices. Here we report a stepwise self-assembly of C60 molecules into islands with unusual shapes and preferred sizes on a gold–indium-covered Si(111) surface. Specifically, 19-mer islands prefer a non-compact boomerang shape, whereas hexagonal 37-mer islands exhibit extraordinarily enhanced stability and abundance. The stepwise self-assembly is mediated by the moiré interference between an island with its underlying lattice, which essentially maps out the adsorption-energy landscape of a C60 on different positions of the surface with a lateral magnification factor and dictates the probability for the subsequent attachment of C60 to an island’s periphery. Our discovery suggests a new method for exploiting the moiré interference to dynamically assist the self-assembly of particles and provides an unexplored tactic of engineering atomic scale moiré magnifiers to facilitate the growth of monodispersed mesoscopic structures.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2706

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