Self-assembly fabrication of two-dimensional nano-netwoks of porphyrin-based molecules

The authors demonstrate the self-assembly of porphyrin-based molecules (tetra-pyridylporphyrin (TPyP) and ZnTPyP) into Kagome lattice or diamond-shaped lattice topologies depending on the different porphyrin macrocyles (deprotonated or metallo), and show the different linking ways between pyridyl end-groups and the gold metal atoms. Self-assemblies of the porphyrin-based molecules on different single-crystal metallic substrates are investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in the ultra high vacuum (UHV) environment.