Self-assembled monolayers of radical molecules physisorbed on HOPG(0 0 0 1) substrate studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance techniques

Abstract In this paper, we present a combined STM and EPR study on the adsorption and self-organization of monolayers formed from 2-(14-Carboxytetradecyl)-2-ethyl-4,4-dimethyl-3-oxazolidinyloxy (16DS) and 4′,4′-Dimethylspiro(5α-cholestane-3,2′-oxazolidin)-3′-yloxy (CSL) adsorbed on a highly oriented pyrolitic graphite HOPG(0 0 0 1) substrate. Both 16DS and CSL molecules are persistent free radicals containing a paramagnetic doxyl group. The STM measurements of 16DS on HOPG(0 0 0 1) were performed at the liquid–solid interface while the studies of CSL on HOPG(0 0 0 1) were carried out under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. It was found that the 16DS molecules on the HOPG(0 0 0 1) surface form a highly-ordered monolayer with a domain structure. The high-resolution STM images show structural details of 16DS molecules on HOPG(0 0 0 1) revealing the paramagnetic doxyl group. In contrast, CSL molecules on HOPG(0 0 0 1) form a well-ordered monolayer without domain structure. The EPR results indicate that both compounds deposited on HOPG(0 0 0 1) substrate are not reduced and retain their paramagnetic character. We believe that the molecular systems described can be used in single spin detection experiments using an electron spin noise-scanning tunnelling microscopy (ESN-STM) technique. In particular, the possibility of obtaining contrast spin signals from the paramagnetic and diamagnetic parts of molecules increases the significance of our results.