PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

A substrate-guided photochemical reaction of C-60 fullerenes on calcite, a bulk insulator, investigated by non-contact atomic force microscopy is presented. The success of the covalent linkage is evident from a shortening of the intermolecular distances, which is clearly expressed by the disappearance of the moire pattern. Furthermore, UV/Vis spectroscopy and mass spectrometry measurements carried out on thick films demonstrate the ability of our setup for initiating the photoinduced reaction. The irradiation of C-60 results in well-oriented covalently linked domains. The orientation of these domains is dictated by the lattice dimensions of the underlying calcite substrate. Using the lattice mismatch to deliberately steer the direction of the chemical reaction is expected to constitute a general design principle for on-surface synthesis. This work thus provides a strategy for controlled fabrication of oriented, covalent networks on bulk insulators.