Fig. 3.

Coupling reaction of trichloromethylbenzene (TCMB) on Cu(111). a Coupling of TCMB to form 1,2-diphenylethyne (DPE). b STM image after TCMB deposition onto a Cu(111) surface at 300 K (I = 20 pA, V = –0.6 V). Scale bar: 1 nm. c STM image of close-packed DPE molecules after annealing to 358 K (overlaid with molecular models). The molecular length and intermolecular distance is 11.9 Å and 9 Å, respectively (I = 20 pA, V = –0.6 V). Scale bar: 1 nm. d High-resolution STM image (I = 20 pA, V = –0.6 V, scale bar: 300 pm) and e the corresponding nc-AFM image of DPE molecules. Scale bar: 300 pm