AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Surface Science Division Monday Sessions
       Session SS+AS+MI-MoM

Paper SS+AS+MI-MoM3
Decomposition and Self-Assembly of Coronene on Pt(111)

Monday, October 30, 2017, 9:00 am, Room 25

Session: Organic/Inorganic Surfaces and Interfaces
Presenter: Chen Wang, University of California Irvine
Authors: C. Wang, University of California Irvine
K. Thurmer, Sandia National Laboratories
N. Bartelt, Sandia National Laboratories
Correspondent: Click to Email
Composed of seven benzene rings that form a larger, hexagonal structure, coronene is a molecule often referred to as “the smallest flake of graphene”. As such, this molecule provides insight into the nature and dominance of edge effects in graphene-based systems and devices. Furthermore, as a polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon, coronene serves as a common chemical precursor and building block in soot formation, a process that is still largely mysterious in its earliest stages. This work presents the study of coronene assembly on Pt(111) at the nanoscale by using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. Both experimental and theoretical methods focus on understanding the intramolecular interactions between neighboring molecules of coronene and with the underlying metal substrate by characterizing the molecular assembly at the monolayer and bilayer. At the monolayer, the platinum surface is highly interactive with the coronene, resulting in fragmentation of the molecule on and a high binding energy to the platinum surface. At the bilayer, platinum interference is screened, and several coronene-based structures are observed. In situ annealing allows for the observation of molecular clustering as the surface dewets. The coronene molecules first form chains, then clumps, and finally large clusters which bear notable resemblance to incipient soot. These findings are promising contributions to soot research and further general understanding of graphene at its the smallest scale.