Lock and key behaviours of an aromatic carboxylic acid molecule with differing conformations on an Au (111) surface

Tricarboxylic acid derivative with three-fold symmetry in physisorbed monolayers is an important organic molecule for applications in nanotechnology. In this paper, the behaviour of a single tricarboxylic acid derivative, 1,3,5-tris(carboxymethoxy)benzene (TCMB, C6H3(OCH2COOH)3) on an Au (111) substrate at 50 K is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Four possible conformations of the TCMB molecule adsorbed on the Au (111) substrate are found, the difference of which is the orientation of the CH2 chain. They also display different trajectories of movement and dynamical behaviours. As the molecule migrates across the Au (111) surface, the translational motion of TCMB is always accompanied by rotational motion. The lock-and-key (LAK) geometry between the TCMB molecule of different conformations and atomic arrangement of the Au (111) surface was also observed in this study, and the result has been verified by an ab initio calculation.