Self-assembled aggregates formed by single-molecule magnets on a gold surface

Saywell, Alex; Magnano, Graziano; Satterley, Christopher J.; Perdigão, Luís M.A.; Britton, Andrew J.; Taleb, Nassiba; Del Carmen Giménez-López, María; Champness, Neil R.; O'Shea, James N.; Beton, Peter H.

Abstract

The spontaneous ordering of molecules into two-dimensional self-assembled arrays is commonly stabilized by directional intermolecular interactions that may be promoted by the addition of specific chemical side groups to a molecule. In this paper, we show that self-assembly may also be driven by anisotropic interactions that arise from the three-dimensional shape of a complex molecule. We study the molecule Mn12 O12 (O2 CCH 3)16 (H2O)4 (Mn12 (acetate)16), which is transferred from solution onto a Au(111) substrate held in ultrahigh vacuum using electrospray deposition (UHV-ESD). The deposited Mn12 (acetate)16 molecules form filamentary aggregates because of the anisotropic nature of the molecule-molecule and molecule-substrate interactions, as confirmed by molecular dynamics calculations. The fragile Mn12O12 core of the Mn 12 (acetate)16 molecule is compatible with the UHV-ESD process, which we demonstrate using near-edge X-ray adsorption fine-structure spectroscopy. UHV-ESD of Mn12 (acetate)16 onto a surface that has been prepatterned with a hydrogen-bonded supramolecular network provides additional control of lateral organization. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Citation

Saywell, A., Magnano, G., Satterley, C. J., Perdigão, L. M., Britton, A. J., Taleb, N., Del Carmen Giménez-López, M., Champness, N. R., O'Shea, J. N., & Beton, P. H. (2010). Self-assembled aggregates formed by single-molecule magnets on a gold surface. Nature Communications, 1(6), Article 75. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1075

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 23, 2010
• Online Publication Date: Sep 21, 2010
• Publication Date: 2010
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2025
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 75
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1075
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3108913
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1075