Self-assembly of metal phthalocyanines on Pb(111) and Au(111) surfaces at submonolayer coverage

Self-assembly of manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) and iron phthalocyanine (FePc) molecules on Pb(111) and Au(111) surfaces is investigated by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. Both metal phthalocyanine (MPc) molecules form ordered close-packed islands on Pb(111) with different detail superstructures. In contrast, dispersive single molecules are observed for both MPc molecules on Au(111). The different self-assembling behaviors of MPc molecules on Pb(111) and Au(111) originate from a subtle balance between molecule-molecule and molecule-substrate interactions tuned by the substrate based on our theoretical calculation results.