Submolecularly Resolved Polymerization of Diacetylene Molecules on the Graphite Surface Observed with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Abstract

The photopolymerization of a monolayer physisorbed on graphite and containing diacetylene derivatives comprising a isophthalic acid head group and a decyl group as nonpolar tail was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The submolecularly resolved STM image on the right depicts a domain boundary between an unpolymerized monolayer (lower domain) and a polymerized monolayer (upper domain).