Selective adsorption of coronene on Si(1 1 1)-(7 × 7)

The adsorption of coronene (C24H12) on the Si(1 1 1)-(7 × 7) surface is studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Upon room temperature submonolayer deposition, we find that the coronene molecules preferentially adsorb on the unfaulted half of the 7 × 7 unit cell. Molecules adsorbed on different sites can be induced to move to the preferential sites by the action of the tip in repeated image scans. Imaging of the molecules is strongly bias dependent, and also critically depends on the adsorption site. We analyze the results in terms of differential bonding strength for the different adsorption sites and we identify those substrate atoms which participate in the bonding with the molecule.