Self-assembly of methanethiol (CH3SH) on Au(111) was studied using scanning tunnelling microscopy at up to 150K when the S–H bond was intact. The CH3SH monolayer assumes a commensurate structure with a () unit-cell. Only one of three possible azimuthal domains of the monolayer was observed with domain walls pinned at the rotational boundaries of the herringbone reconstruction. From the real-time observation of monolayer formation at 60K, a phenomenological model was proposed for the growth of preferential domains, which was based upon the interplay between molecular detachment from domain boundaries and anisotropic mass transport on the Au(111) surface due to its herring-bone reconstruction.

Molecular Self-Assembly Guided by Surface Reconstruction - CH3SH Monolayer on the Au(111) Surface. P.Maksymovych, D.B.Dougherty: Surface Science, 2008, 602[12], 2017-24