Propagation of conformation in the surface-aligned dissociation of single CH₃SSCH₃ molecules on Au(111)

Single CH₃SSCH₃ molecules adsorb on the Au(111) surface in a trans-conformation. Subsequent electron-induced dissociation of CH₃SSCH₃ cleaves the S-S bond and produces a pair of CH₃S fragments. The dissociation process was found to preserve the conformation of the parent molecule with a high probability of 75% and imprint it in the relative position and orientation of the product CH₃S species on the surface. The high probability of the conformation-retaining scenario is likely due to surface alignment of the S-S bond-breaking reaction coordinate.