What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore how varying landing energy influences the formation of coordination networks on surfaces.

February 12, 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

The aim is to explore how varying landing energy influences the formation of coordination networks on surfaces.
Used electrospray ionization combined with ion beam deposition in ultra-high vacuum.
Deposited iron(II) [2 x 2] grid complex on Ag(111) substrate.
Investigated structures using scanning tunneling microscopy.
Low landing energies led to intact coordination bonds and clusters.
Higher landing energies caused coordination bond cleavage, generating diverse self-assembled networks.
Conventional on-surface synthesis methodologies produced only partial networks compared to the fragmentation route.

Abstract

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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