Regulation of Two-Component Nanostructures at the Liquid-Solid Interface: Role of Pyridine Derivatives and Coronene

We investigate the self-assembly behaviors of the tetracarboxylic acid molecule (H4IMD), which contains an imidazole moiety, and explore the regulation by pyridine derivatives with varying backbones and the guest molecule coronene (COR). Two H4IMD molecules are linked through N-H<middle dot><middle dot><middle dot>O hydrogen bonds to form a dimer, which spontaneously self-assembles into a grid structure via O-H<middle dot><middle dot><middle dot>O hydrogen bonds. The addition of linear pyridine derivatives (BP and Bispy) can break some of the O-H<middle dot><middle dot><middle dot>O hydrogen bonds, allowing these pyridine molecules to insert between the dimer columns. In contrast, the tripyridine derivative (TPYB) disrupts the original dimer structures, resulting in a completely altered nanostructure. Moreover, the H4IMD self-assembled structure can be regulated into a rhombus network by the coadsorption of COR molecules. Combining scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations, this study elucidates the diverse structural variations and the underlying mechanisms, which provide new insights into molecular coassembly.