Site-selective effects on guest-molecular adsorption and fabrication of four-component architecture by higher order networks

Abstract

2D porous networks have attracted great attention as they can be used to immobilize functional units as guest molecules in a spatially ordered arrangement. In this work, a novel molecular hybrid network with two kinds of cavities was fabricated. Several kinds of guest molecules, such as coronene, copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc), triphenylene, heptanoic acid and fullerene molecules, can be immobilized into this template. Site- and size-selective effects can be observed. Furthermore, we have also fabricated interesting 2D crystal architecture with complex four-component structure at the liquid–solid interface, following investigation by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The current findings provide a convenient approach towards the formation of more complex and functionalized surface nanopatterns, which can benefit the study of host–guest assembly behaviour within a monolayer composed by several components at interfaces.