Collective reactivity of molecular chains self-assembled on a surface

Peter Maksymovych, Dan C. Sorescu, Kenneth D. Jordan, John T. Yates

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

Self-assembly of molecules on surfaces is a route toward not only creating structures, but also engineering chemical reactivity afforded by the intermolecular interactions. Dimethyldisulfide (CH3SSCH3) molecules self-assemble into linear chains on single-crystal gold surfaces. Injecting low-energy electrons into individual molecules in the self-assembled structures with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope led to a propagating chemical reaction along the molecular chain as sulfur-sulfur bonds were broken and then reformed to produce new CH3SSCH3 molecules. Theoretical and experimental evidence supports a mechanism involving electron attachment followed by dissociation of a CH3SSCH3 molecule and initiation of a chain reaction by one or both of the resulting CH 3S intermediates.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1664-1667
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume322
Issue number5908
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 12 2008

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