Molecular self-assembly guided by surface reconstruction:: CH3SH monolayer on the Au(111) surface

Self-assembly of methanethiol (CH(3)SH) on Au(111) was studied using scanning tunneling microscopy at T < 150 K when the S-H bond is intact. The CH3SH monolayer assumes a commensurate structure with a [GRAPHICS] unit-cell. Only one of three possible azimuthal domains of the monolayer was observed with domain walls pinned at the rotational boundaries of the herringbone reconstruction. From a real-time observation of monolayer formation at T = 60 K we propose a phenomenological model for the growth of preferential domains, which is based on the interplay between molecular detachment from domain boundaries and anisotropic mass transport on the Au(111) surface due to its herringbone reconstruction. Published by Elsevier B.V.