Cyano-Functionalized Triarylamines on Coinage Metal Surfaces: Interplay of Intermolecular and Molecule–Substrate Interactions

The self-assembly of cyano-functionalized triarylamine derivatives on Cu(111), Ag(111) and Au(111) was studied by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Different bonding motifs, such as antiparallel dipolar coupling, hydrogen bonding and metal coordination, were observed. Whereas on Ag(111) only one hexagonally close-packed pattern stabilized by hydrogen bonding is observed, on Au(111) two different partially porous phases are present at submonolayer coverage, stabilized by dipolar coupling, hydrogen bonding and metal coordination. In contrast to the self-assembly on Ag(111) and Au(111), for which large islands are formed, on Cu(111), only small patches of hexagonally close-packed networks stabilized by metal coordination and areas of disordered molecules are found. The significant variety in the molecular self-assembly of the cyano-functionalized triarylamine derivatives on these coinage metal surfaces is explained by differences in molecular mobility and the subtle interplay between intermolecular and molecule–substrate interactions