Abstract
The transmission of chirality to an achiral metal surface after adsorption of chiral or achiral molecules is an exciting approach toward new materials systems. The interaction of racemic 2,3-dimethylsuccinic acid and its achiral meso form with a Cu(110) surface has been investigated in ultrahigh vacuum by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, temperature-programmed desorption, and density functional theory. Racemic as well as meso-2,3-dimethylsuccinic acid form extended enantiomorphous structures, coexisting with extended two-dimensional structures that do not break the mirror symmetry of the substrate surface. Copper adatoms decorating the molecules suggest a chiral reconstruction of the surface. The thermally induced decomposition proceeds autocatalytically in a so-called surface explosion and shows a profound difference for the diastereomers.
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