STM study on nonionic fluorosurfactant zonyl FSN Self-Assembly on Au(100): [array: see text] molecular lattice, corrugations, and adsorbate-enhanced mobility.

Nonionic fluorosurfactant zonyl FSN self-assembly on Au(100) is investigated by using scanning tunneling microscopy under ambient conditions. High-resolution STM images reveal that a [array: see text] arrangement of the FSN SAMs is formed on Au(100). Different from the uniform structure of FSN SAMs on Au(111), the adsorption sites of FSN molecules on Au(100) change gradually and form a kind of corrugated structure. The change in the adsorption sites probably originates from the repulsive force among FSN molecules because the nearest-neighbor distance of FSN molecules is 0.41 nm, which is smaller than 0.50 nm on Au(111). The mobility of surface atoms on the Au substrate is enhanced by the interaction between FSN molecules and the Au substrate; therefore, no Au island is observed on the FSN-SAM-covered Au(100).