Scanning tunneling microscopy investigation of tricycloquinazoline liquid crystals on gold

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hexaalkylthioether derivatives of tricycloquinazoline (TCQ) on Au(111) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2) were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The Au(111) surfaces were found to be etched by the thioether containing solutions. Corroded surfaces which are similar to gold surfaces that were coated with SAMs of thiols or disulfides were revealed by STM. Atomic adsorption spectroscopy proved that an amount of gold that corresponds to ca. 30% of a monolayer was dissolved in the assembly solutions. On gold, the aromatic cores of the molecules were found to be in face-on orientation. The alkyl substituents were in most cases folded upwards and s…