Self-assembled stripe structure of zinc-phthalocyanine on graphite surfaces

Monolayers of zinc-phthalocyanine deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. At the coverage of 1 ML, ZnPc layers show stripes with twined domains along threefold symmetry. The separations between the stripe lines are 6 nm and the heights of the monolayers are 1.2 nm. This structure can be explained by a corresponding superstructure for monolayered beta -form ZnPc crystals with the Ir-stacking in parallel to the HOPG surface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.