Templated quasicrystalline molecular ordering.

Smerdon, J A; Young, K M; Lowe, M; Hars, S S; Yadav, T P; Hesp, D; Dhanak, V R; Tsai, A P et al. · Nano Lett · 2014

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Quasicrystals are materials with long-range ordering but no periodicity. We report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations of quasicrystalline molecular layers on 5-fold quasicrystal surfaces. The molecules adopt positions and orientations on the surface consistent with the quasicrystalline ordering of the substrate. Carbon-60 adsorbs atop sufficiently separated Fe atoms on icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe to form a unique quasicrystalline lattice, whereas further C60 molecules decorate remaining surface Fe atoms in a quasi-degenerate fashion. Pentacene (Pn) adsorbs at 10-fold symmetric points around surface-bisected rhombic triacontahedral clusters in icosahedral Ag-In-Yb. These systems constitute the first demonstrations of quasicrystalline molecular ordering on a template.