Dibromobianthryl ordering and polymerization on Ag(100)

We study the interaction between dibromobianthryl (DBBA) and the Ag(100) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. DBBA is prochiral on adsorption and forms racemic domains with molecular rows aligned with the substrate nearest-neighbor [011] and [01¯1] directions. Deposition at elevated temperatures leads to the formation of disordered meandering graphene nanowires of constant width.