Cyano-functionalized tetraphenyl porphyrins fused together by cyano-Cu-cyano interactions with Cu adatoms form a snowflake-like structure with a triangular central pore on Cu(111). More information can be found in the Full Paper by B. Meyer, H.-P. Steinrück, et al. on page 13408.

Abstract We study the interaction and metalation reaction of a free base 5,10,15,20‐terakis(4‐cyanophenyl)porphyrin (2HTCNPP) with post‐deposited Zn atoms and the targeted reaction product Zn‐5,10,15,20‐terakis(4‐cyanophenyl)porphyrin (ZnTCNPP) on a Ag(111) surface. The investigations are performed with scanning tunneling microscopy at room temperature after Zn deposition and subsequent heating. The goal is to obtain further insights in the metalation reaction and the influence of the cyanogroups on this reaction. The interaction of 2HTCNPP with post‐deposited Zn leads to the formation of three different 2D ordered island types that coexist on the surface. All contain a new species with a bright appearance, which increases with the amount of post‐deposited Zn. We attribute this to metastable SAT (“sitting atop”) complexes formed by Zn and the macrocycle, that is, an intermediate in the metalation reaction to ZnTCNPP, which occurs upon heating to 500 K. Interestingly, the activation barrier for the successive reaction of the SAT complex to the metalated ZnTCNPP species can also be overcome by a voltage pulse applied to the STM tip.

Metal adatoms play a key role in surface diffusion, adsorption conformation, and self-assembly of porphyrin molecules on metal surfaces. Herein, we study the specific influence of coadsorption of Fe, Co, and Pd atoms on the behavior of 2H-tetiakis(p-cyano)phenylporphyrin (2H-TCNPP) on Cu(111) using scanning tunneling microscopy. Upon codeposition of Fe and Co, the molecules form one-dimensional (1D) linear chains after mild annealing on Cu(111) driven by the interaction of its cyano groups with metal adatoms. A similar behavior has been observed previously on Cu(111), mediated by Cu adatoms, where the functional CN groups were also found to lower the reaction rate of the so-called porphyrin self-metalation reaction with Cu atoms significantly, in comparison to the non-cyano-functionalized porphyrin. Upon co-deposition of Pd and mild annealing, we find a remarkably different behavior, that is, a massive reorganization from 1D molecular chains to a peculiar rectangular 2D (two-dimensional) network. The molecular appearance changes to a clover shape, which is attributed to a Pd-induced dehydrogenation and subsequent ring closure reaction of the phenyl and pyrrole groups.

We investigated the adsorption of three related cyano-functionalized tetraphenyl porphyrin derivatives on Cu(111) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) with the goal to identify the role of the cyano group and the central Cu atom for the intermolecular and supramolecular arrangement. The porphyrin derivatives studied were Cu-TCNPP, Cu-cisDCNPP, and 2H-cisDCNPP, that is, Cu-5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(p-cyano)-phenylporphyrin, Cu-meso-cis-di(p-cyano)-phenylporphyrin and 2H-meso-cis-di(p-cyano)-phenylporphyrin, respectively. Starting from different structures obtained after deposition at room temperature, all three molecules form the same long-range ordered hexagonal honeycomb-type structure with triangular pores and three molecules per unit cell. For the metal-free 2H-cisDCNPP, this occurs only after self-metalation upon heating. The structure-forming elements are pores with a distance of 3.1 nm, formed by triangles of porphyrins fused together by cyano-Cu-cyano interactions with Cu adatoms. This finding leads us to suggest that two cyano-phenyl groups in the "cis" position is the minimum prerequisite to form a highly ordered 2D porous molecular pattern. The experimental findings are supported by detailed density functional theory calculations to analyze the driving forces that lead to the formation of the porous hexagonal honeycomb-type structure.

AbstractDie Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit der Selbstmetallierung von Freie‐Base‐Tetraphenylporphyrinen (TPPs) auf Cu(111) nimmt mit zunehmender Zahl der Cyangruppen in para‐Position der Phenylringe (n=0, 1, 2, 4) systematisch ab. Die Ergebnisse basieren auf Messungen mit isothermer Rastertunnelmikroskopie. Bei Raumtemperatur adsorbieren alle untersuchten Freie‐Base‐TPP‐Derivate als individuelle Moleküle mit klar definierter Orientierung entlang den dichtest gepackten Cu‐Substratreihen. Durch Heizen auf 400 K bilden sich durch intermolekulare CN‐Cu‐CN‐Bindungen lineare Dimere und/oder Multimere. Parallel dazu kann die Selbstmetallierung der Freie‐Base‐Porphyrine nach einer Reaktion 1. Ordnung stattfinden. Für Tetracyan‐funktionalisierte Moleküle nimmt die Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit um einen Faktor von >20 gegenüber der von nicht‐funktionalisierten Molekülen ab. Dies entspricht einer Zunahme der Aktivierungsenergie von 1.48 auf 1.59 eV. DFT‐Rechnungen geben einen tieferen Einblick in die Rolle der elektronenziehenden Cyangruppen.

The reaction rate of the self-metalation of free-base tetraphenylporphyrins (TPPs) on Cu(111) increases with the number of cyano groups (n=0, 1, 2, 4) attached at the para positions of the phenyl rings. The findings are based on isothermal scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements. At room temperature, all investigated free-base TPP derivatives adsorb as individual molecules and are aligned with respect to densely packed Cu substrate rows. Annealing at 400 K leads to the formation of linear dimers and/or multimers via CN-Cu-CN bonds, accompanied by self-metalation of the free-base porphyrins following a first-order rate equation. When comparing the non-cyano-functionalized and the tetracyano-functionalized molecules, we find a decrease of the reaction rate by a factor of more than 20, corresponding to an increase of the activation energy from 1.48 to 1.59 eV. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations give insights into the influence of the peripheral electron-withdrawing cyano groups and explain the experimentally observed effects.

We investigated the metalation and coordination reactions of Co with 2H-5,15-bis(para-cyanophenyl)10,20-bisphenylporphyrin (2HtransDCNPP) on a Ag(111) surface by scanning tunneling microscopy. At room temperature (RT), 2HtransDCNPPs self-assemble into a supramolecular structure stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The metalation of 2HtransDCNPP is achieved either by depositing Co atoms onto the supramolecular structure at RT, or, alternatively, by depositing the molecules onto a submonolayer Co-precovered Ag(111) surface with a subsequent heating to 500 K. In addition, the molecules coordinate to Co atoms through the N atoms in the peripheral cyano groups with a preference of isolated 4-fold coordination motifs at RT.

The adsorption behaviour of 2H-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyltetrabenzoporphyrin (2HTPTBP) on different metal surfaces, i.e., Ag(111), Cu(111), Cu(110), and Cu(110)-(2 × 1)O was investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy at room temperature. The adsorption of 2HTPTBP on Ag(111) leads to the formation of a well-ordered two-dimensional (2D) island structure due to the mutual stabilization through the intermolecular π-π stacking and T-type-like interactions of phenyl and benzene substituents of neighboring molecules. For 2HTPTBP on Cu(111), the formed 2D supramolecular structures exhibit a coverage-dependent behaviour, which can be understood from the interplay of molecule-substrate and molecule-molecule interactions. In contrast, on Cu(110) the 2HTPTBP molecules form dispersed one-dimensional (1D) molecular chains along the [11[combining macron]0] direction of the substrate due to relatively strong attractive molecule-substrate interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the reconstruction of the Cu(110) surface by oxygen atoms yields a change in dimensionality of the resulting nanostructures from 1D on Cu(110) to 2D on (2 × 1) oxygen-reconstructed Cu(110), induced by a decreased molecule-substrate interaction combined with attractive molecule-molecule interactions. This comprehensive study on these prototypical systems enables us to deepen the understanding of the particular role of the substrate concerning the adsorption behavior of organic molecules on metal surfaces and thus to tweak the ordering in functional molecular architectures.

We investigate the impact of peripheral cyano functionalization of the previously well-studied 2H-tetraphenylporphyrin (2HTPP) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). The adsorption behavior of 2H-tetralds(p-cyano)-phenylporphyrin (2HTCNPP) is studied at room temperature and at 80 K on Cu(111) and Ag(111). Interestingly, the cyano-functionalized porphyrins tend to form isolated ID chains on Cu(111), in particular after mild annealing at 350 K. The individual 2HTCNPPs as well as the formed chains are oriented along the main crystallographic directions of the Cu(111) substrate due to a strongly attractive and site-specific interaction between the iminic nitrogens of the 2HTCNPP and Cu substrate atoms. The linking within the 1D molecular chains is realized by Cu adatoms as evidenced by comparison of STM and DFT. In contrast, on Ag(111) the molecules assemble into 2D supramolecular layers with long-range order and a square unit cell, stabilized by molecule-molecule interactions. The orientation of the molecules with respect to the unit cell lattice vectors leads to organizational chirality. By codeposition of cobalt, the porphyrin molecules are metalated at room temperature. We did not observe any evidence for metal-organic network formation on Ag(111), even after varying the deposition parameters or the order of metal and porphyrin deposition. Our study shows that cyano functionalization of porphyrins can give rise to novel and unique self-assembled structures like 1D molecular chains without any cross-connections via adatom linking.

Based on density functional theory calculations combined with experimental results, we report and discuss an extremely distorted, "inverted" adsorption geometry of free-base tetraphenylporphyrin on Cu(111). The current findings yield new insights into a well-studied system, shedding light on the peculiar molecule-substrate interaction and the resulting intramolecular conformation.

The adsorption behavior of 2H-tetrakis(3,5-di-tert-butyl)phenylporphyrin (2HTTBPP) on Cu(110) and Cu(110)-(2×1)O surfaces have been investigated by using variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. On the bare Cu(110) surface, individual 2HTTBPP molecules are observed. These molecules are immobilized on the surface with a particular orientation with respect to the crystallographic directions of the Cu(110) surface and do not form supramolecular aggregates up to full monolayer coverage. In contrast, a chiral supramolecular structure is formed on the Cu(110)-(2×1)O surface, which is stabilized by van der Waals interactions between the tert-butyl groups of neighboring molecules. These findings are explained by weakened molecule-substrate interactions on the Cu(110)-(2×1)O surface relative to the bare Cu(110) surface. By comparison with the corresponding results of Cu-tetrakis(3,5-di-tert-butyl)phenylporphyrin (CuTTBPP) on Cu(110) and Cu(110)-(2×1)O surfaces, we find that the 2HTTBPP molecules can self-metalate on both surfaces with copper atoms from the substrate at room temperature (RT). The possible origins of the self-metalation reaction at RT are discussed. Finally, peculiar irreversible temperature-dependent switching of the intramolecular conformations of the investigated molecules on the Cu(110) surface was observed and interpreted.

A systematic scanning tunnelling microscopy investigation of the self-assembly and of thermally induced conformational changes of Ni(II)-meso-tetrakis (4-tert-butylphenyl) benzoporphyrin (Ni-TTBPBP) on Cu(111) is presented. At room temperature, Ni-TTBPBPs diffuse on the surface and self-assemble into ordered islands with well-defined registry to the substrate, with two different azimuthal orientations. The formation of the characteristic supramolecular structure is attributed to van der Waals interactions between the tert-butyl groups. Upon moderate heating, the intramolecular conformation changes irreversibly due to a dehydrogenative intramolecular aryl-aryl coupling reaction. This reaction is coverage dependent, with a lower rate at higher initial coverage; this behaviour is attributed to a stabilization of Ni-TTBPBP in the ordered islands at higher coverage.

We have studied the coverage-dependent adsorption behavior of Ni(II)-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyltetra-benzoporphyrin on Cu(111) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at room temperature. At medium coverages, the molecules self-assemble into two-dimensional islands, due to mutual stabilization through intermolecular interactions. Altogether, three different supramolecular arrangements coexist at low-to-medium coverages. On the basis of high-resolution STM images and density functional theory calculations, models for the three arrangements and the corresponding intramolecular conformations of the individual molecules are proposed. The observed polymorphism is attributed to a complex interplay of specific T-type and pi-pi stacking interactions between the phenyl groups. For Ni(II)-meso-tetrakis (4-tert-butylphenyl) benzoporphyrin, in which the aromatic periphery is modified by the attachment of tert-butyl groups, only one supramolecular arrangement on Cu(111) is found. This difference highlights the fact that the choice of peripheral ligands of the porphyrin derivatives plays an important role in the fabrication and tailoring of functional molecular architectures.