Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and orbital-mediated tunneling spectroscopy (OMTS) are reported for N, N′-dioctyl-1,8:4,5-naphthalenediimide (diimide) adsorbed on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The diimide forms well ordered monolayers either at the interface between HOPG and several phenylalkanes, or at the HOPG-air or HOPG-vacuum interface when adsorbed from toluene. Planar adsorption of the diimide ring on HOPG is observed. Hydrogen bonding, O and N interaction with HOPG, and π-π interactions appear to be the primary drivers for determining the monolayer structure which is stable and independent of the adsorption method. This is an unusual example since most alkane-substituted systems studied to date rely on alkane chain interactions (with HOPG and interdigitation) to drive the adsorbate structure on graphite. The observed unit cell has a ) 2.0 ( 0.2 nm, b ) 1.95 ( 0.2 nm, R ) 67 ( 2°. The STM imaging is highly bias dependent and appears to be controlled (in the (2 V bias region) by an unoccupied orbital. Orbitalmediated tunneling spectra reveal a single strong electron affinity band near 3.5 eV below the vacuum level.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.