Abstract
Quasicrystalline surfaces are potential templates for highly ordered but aperiodic molecular self-assemblies. Here, we report on the adsorption of molecules on a two-dimensional oxide quasicrystal (OQC) and its -phase approximant at room temperature and . The molecular films have been characterized by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. A weak interaction of the molecules with the dodecagonal oxide template is found, resulting in a low desorption temperature of . For low temperatures specific adsorption sites within the tiling of the OQC and the -phase approximant have been identified as preferred nucleation sites. The narrow spacing between these sites introduces repulsive interaction between molecules and restricts the epitaxial growth to small patches. At room temperature, nucleates in hcp islands of almost arbitrary rotational orientation on the OQC. A slight orientational preference for hexagonal islands with a rotation against the OQC tiling is discussed as a consequence of the preferential adsorption on the quadratic tiles.
5 More- Received 30 August 2019
- Revised 24 October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.205414
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