Extended one-dimensional supramolecular assembly on a stepped surface.

2,6-naphthalene-dicarboxylic acid was adsorbed on a Ag110 surface with an average terrace width of only some tens of a nm. Scanning tunneling microscopy shows that the adsorbates self-assemble into one-dimensional mesoscale length chains. These extend over several hundred nanometers and thus the structure exhibits an unprecedented tolerance to monatomic surface steps. Density functional theory and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy explain the behavior by a strong intermolecular hydrogen bond plus a distinct template-mediated directionality and a high degree of molecular backbone flexibility.

Revisiting the structure of the p(4 x 4) surface oxide on Ag(111).

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density-functional theory are used to reexamine the structure of the renowned p(4 x 4)-O/Ag(111) surface oxide. The accepted structural model [C. I. Carlisle, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3899 (2000)10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.3899] is incompatible with the enhanced resolution of the current STM measurements. An "Ag6 model" is proposed that is more stable than its predecessor and accounts for the coexistence of the p(4 x 4) and a novel c(3 x 5log3)rect phase. This coexistence is an indication of the dynamic complexity of the system that until now has not been appreciated.

Oxidation of Pt(110).

Using scanning tunneling microscopy and temperature programmed desorption we investigate the Pt(110) surface under strongly oxidizing conditions involving either high-pressure O2 or atomic oxygen exposure. At low temperatures, only disordered Pt oxide structures are observed. After annealing ordered surface oxide islands are observed to coexist with a highly stable reconstructed (12x2)-O chemisorption structure. From density functional theory calculations a model for the surface oxide phase is revealed. The phase is found to be metastable, and its presence is explained in terms of stabilizing defects in the chemisorption layer and reduced Pt mobility.