A Stable Room‐Temperature Molecular Assembly of Zwitterionic Organic Dipoles Guided by a Si(111)‐7×7 Template Effect

Chiral assemblies of achiral molecules: High-resolution STM images of zwitterionic organic dipoles deposited on Si(111)-7×7 show a chiral molecular assembly on this surface (see picture). Density functional calculations demonstrate that a sulfonato group can act as an electrostatic shield that protects the π skeleton of organic molecules from the dangling bonds of semiconductor surfaces, which is a major advance in the deposition of π-conjugated molecules.