How Does Chemisorption Impact Physisorption? Molecular View of Defect Incorporation and Perturbation of Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly

Chemical and structural defects in otherwise pristine materials can result in either an improved or degraded material performance. Unfortunately, little is known about the role of these defects in complex hierarchical processes, such as self-assembly. Here, the influence of defective surfaces on physisorbed self-assembly occurring at liquid/solid interfaces is investigated. Covalently bound defects on graphite surfaces are generated by electrochemically activating diazonium cations. After creating the defective substrates, a solution containing self-assembling molecules was deposited on the surface. Subsequent scanning probe investigations expose how the chemisorbed molecular units can either be incorporated within a porous hexagonal network, or generate local perturbations in the form of partial or full desorption of the physisorbed molecules. Overall, the chemisorbed molecules alter the local energy landscape for self-assembly to isolate new molecular packing arrangements. With a single-molecule perspective, this work outlines how chemical defects contribute to the formation of metastable assemblies and their evolutionary pathways toward higher-symmetry networks.