Self-assembled
behaviors of three fluorenone derivatives substituted
by different halogen atoms, 2-(pentadecyloxy)-6-bromo-fluorenone (Br-FC15),
2-(pentadecyloxy)-6-chloro-fluorenone (Cl-FC15), and 2-(pentadecyloxy)-6-fluoro-fluorenone
(F-FC15), were investigated at the 1-phenyloctane/highly oriented
pyrolytic graphite interface by scanning tunneling microscopy combined
with density functional theory calculations in comparison with the
self-assembly of 2-pentadecyloxy-fluorenone (H-FC15). It is found
that different charge distributions on halogen substituents lead to
a subtle change of the molecular packing nanostructures. By varying
the solution concentrations, X-FC15 (X = Br, Cl, H) can self-assemble
into polymorphic nanostructures, whereas only one pattern can be observed
for the F-FC15 adlayer due to the stronger continuous C–H···F
bonds. The intermolecular C–H···OC hydrogen
bonds are the main driving forces for all the self-assembled patterns.
Particularly, the halogen-based hydrogen bonds and the type-I X···X
(X = Br, Cl) bonds act as the collaborative forces to stabilize the
alternate adlayers. Furthermore, the halogen bonds (C–Br···OC
and C–Cl···OC) make the crucial contribution
to the distinct lamellar and the dumbbell-like patterns. The investigation
suggests that the engineering of organic nanoarchitectures can be
effectively tailored by the introduction of different halogen atoms.