Surface Trapping of Atoms and Molecules with Dipole Rings
Hugo Dil,1,2
Jorge Lobo-Checa,1,2*
Robert Laskowski,3
Peter Blaha,3
Simon Berner,1
Jürg Osterwalder,1
Thomas Greber1
The trapping of single molecules on surfaces without the formation of strong covalent bonds is a prerequisite for molecular recognition and the exploitation of molecular function. On nanopatterned surfaces, molecules may be selectively trapped and addressed. In a boron nitride nanomesh formed on Rh(111), the pattern consisted of holes 2 nanometers in diameter on a hexagonal superlattice, separated by about 3 nanometers. The trapping was further investigated with density functional theory and the photoemission of adsorbed xenon, where the holes were identified as regions of low work function. The analysis showed that the trapping potential was localized at the rims of the holes.
1 Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
2 Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
3 Institute of Materials Chemistry, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/165-TC, A-1060 Vienna, Austria.
* Present address: Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: greber{at}physik.uzh.ch
