The interaction of sublimed iminodiacetic acid with a Cu{110} surface

Iminodiacetic acid (IMDA), NH(CH2CO2H)2, whose molecular structure is shown in figure 1, is a small molecule but has a very large scope for interacting with copper due to its two carboxylic acid and imine functionalities, which have been shown to bind strongly to copper [1,2,3]. The electronegative oxygen and nitrogen atoms present also make this a good candidate for hydrogen bonding, which often leads to very stable ordered two dimensional (2D) structures being formed across surfaces