The striped phases of ethylthiolate monolayers on the Au(111) surface: a scanning tunneling microscopy study.

ABSTRACT

Striped phases of ethylthiolate monolayers, corresponding to surface coverage in between 0.2 ML and 0.27 ML, were studied using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy. Striped phases consist of rows of Au-adatom-diethythiolate (AAD) aligned along the [112] direction. In the perpendicular [110] direction, the AAD rows adjust their spacing according to the surface coverage. A (5√3 × âˆš3)-R30° striped phase with 0.27 ML thiolate and a (6√3 × âˆš3)-R30° striped phase with 0.23 ML thiolate, both with long-range order, are found. A localized (5 × âˆš3)-rect. phase is also found as a minority phase embedded in the 5√3 × âˆš3)-R30° phase. This (5 × âˆš3)-rect. phase can be constructed using di-Au-adatom-tri-thiolate species.