Effect of the Formation of Highly Ordered Platinum(II) Octaethylporphyrin Adlayer on the Surface Reconstruction of Gold and Supramolecular Assembly of Fullerenes

Abstract

The structures of 2D molecular assemblies of platinum(II) octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP) on Au(111) and Au(100) surfaces were examined using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in 0.05 M HClO4 solutions. The in situ STM observations revealed that the reconstructed rows of Au(111) and Au(100) were stabilized through the formation of highly ordered arrays by adsorption of PtOEP in a wide potential range of the electric double-layer region and that the PtOEP overlayer expanded the stable potential range for the reconstructed phase. Furthermore, the supramolecular assembly of C60 and C84 on a highly ordered PtOEP adlayer formed on Au(111) surfaces was investigated. STM images revealed site-selective supramolecular assembly of fullerenes, especially C84, which exhibited a low coverage on the PtOEP adlayer. C60 molecules exhibited a full coverage and formed highly ordered adlayers on PtOEP, whereas C84 exhibited disordered arrays. The results of this study showed that the strong π-electron donation by the PtOEP molecules stabilized the reconstructed rows of single-crystal Au planes and that the PtOEP adlayer acted as a strong electron-donating layer, aiding the formation of supramolecularly assembled C60 molecules.