Citation: Shaoze WANG, Aimei ZHOU, Yunhui WANG, Lei SUN. Diversified on-surface self-assembly of Cu₃(HOTP)₂ fragments: Atomic characterization of oxidation and deprotonation effects[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, ;2026, 42(11): 2411-2419. doi: 10.11862/CJIC.20260211 shu

Diversified on-surface self-assembly of Cu₃(HOTP)₂ fragments: Atomic characterization of oxidation and deprotonation effects

Shaoze WANG ^{1, 2, 3} ,
Aimei ZHOU ^{1, 3} ,
Yunhui WANG ⁴ ,
Lei SUN ^{1, 2, 3,,}

1.
Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
2.
Department of Physics, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China
3.
Institute of Natural Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China
4.
Instrumentation and Service Center for Physical Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China

Corresponding author: Lei SUN, sunlei@westlake.edu.cn
Received Date: 2 July 2026
Revised Date: 22 September 2026

Figures(5)

Under ultra-high vacuum, surface synthesis of 2D conjugated metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) was carried out through molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth to address the challenge of traditional solvothermal methods in achieving large-scale, defect-free single-crystal synthesis. Here, we chose an iconic 2D conjugated MOF, Cu₃(HOTP)₂ (HOTP represents the deprotonated derivative of 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), as a case study to investigate the diversified self-assembly of Cu atoms and HHTP ligands, as well as the synthesis mechanism of the MOF fragment on the surface with and without O₂ annealing conditions by scanning tunneling microscopy. The results show that dumbbell-shaped [Cu(HOTP)₂] complexes, the target fragment of MOFs, can be successfully generated in an O₂ atmosphere, yet large-area extended MOFs remain elusive, highlighting oxidation and ligand deprotonation as two key factors that hinder the on-surface synthesis of Cu₃(HOTP)₂.
- metal-organic frameworks,
- Cu₃(HOTP)₂,
- scanning tunneling microscopy,
- molecular beam epitaxy growth,
- self-assembly
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Diversified on-surface self-assembly of Cu3(HOTP)2 fragments: Atomic characterization of oxidation and deprotonation effects

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

Diversified on-surface self-assembly of Cu₃(HOTP)₂ fragments: Atomic characterization of oxidation and deprotonation effects