One-dimensional assembly and selective orientation of lander molecules on an O-Cu template

Assembling and aligning molecules on surfaces: By creating a suitable O-Cu nanotemplate on a Cu(110) surface, "Lander" molecules were successfully assembled into long, well-ordered one-dimensional chains (see picture). By controlling the ratio between the length of the molecules and the width of bare Cu stripes, the molecules can be forced to align along the specific direction of the Cu stripes.