Reactive two-component monolayers template bottom-up assembly of nanoparticle arrays on HOPG

Two triphenyleneethynylene derivatives, 1^OH and 2, self-assemble a patterned monolayer (ML) at the solution–graphite (HOPG) interface. The four molecule unit cell of the ML, (1^OH1^OH22), spans 19 nm and contains adjacent columns of 1^OH molecules spaced by 4.7 nm. Following ML assembly, a disulfide is appended to the alcohol group on each 1^OH molecule and used to capture 2.0 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNP). The patterned monolayer directs bottom-up assembly of a 5 nm/19 nm double pitch AuNP pattern.