What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to explore how varying landing energies during electrospray deposition influences the formation of coordination networks on surfaces.

May 20, 2026Open Access

Guiding the Formation of Surface‐Confined 2D Metal–Organic Coordination Networks by Variation of Constituent Landing Energy in Electrospray Deposition of an Iron(II) Grid Complex

Key Points

This study aims to explore how varying landing energies during electrospray deposition influences the formation of coordination networks on surfaces.
Electrospray ionization combined with ion beam deposition was used to deposit an Fe(II) grid complex on Ag(111).
Structures were analyzed using scanning tunneling microscopy.
Landing energy was varied to observe effects on cluster formation and coordination bond integrity.
Low landing energies (< 3 eV) maintained intact coordination bonds, forming clusters and single structures.
Higher landing energies (> 3 eV) caused coordination bond cleavage, leading to diverse self-assembled surface networks.
On-surface synthesis with ligands and Fe atoms reproduced only part of the observed networks, indicating a unique synthesis pathway.

Abstract

The combination of electrospray ionization with ion beam deposition in ultra-high vacuum has opened new opportunities to research non-sublimable molecules on solid surfaces in recent years. An Fe (II) 2 × 2 grid complex was deposited on Ag (111) and investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. Low landing energies (3 eV z^−1) led to coordination bond cleavage and a rich variety of self-assembled surface networks formed spontaneously by the grid fragments. Applying established on-surface synthesis methodology employing the constituents of these networks (ligands and Fe atoms) reproduced only a part of them. It is thus proposed that electrospray ion beam deposition is a different route to on-surface coordination network synthesis.

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