A promising approach to create functional nanoarrays is supramolecular self-assembly at liquid–solid interfaces. In the present investigation, we report on the self-assembly of phthalocyanine arrays using triphenylene-2,6,10-tricarboxylic acid (H3TTCA) as a molecular nanotemplate. Five different metastable arrays are achieved in the study, including a thermodynamically stable configuration. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements and density function theory (DFT) calculations are utilized to reveal the formation mechanism of the molecular nanoarrays. In general, the transformation process of nanoarrays is regulated by the synergies of a template effect and thermodynamic balance.

In the present investigation, we reported the fabrication of a chicken-wire porous 2D network formed by triphenylene-2,6,10-tricarboxylic acid (H3TTCA) at the liquid–solid interface. When coronene (COR) molecules were added into the system, the H3TTCA honey-comb network was broken and the reconstructed structures of the H3TTCA/COR host–guest systems were subsequently formed. Scanning tunneling microscopic (STM) measurements and density function theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to reveal the structural variety in the co-assembly of H3TTCA/COR controlled by the solution concentration at 1-heptanoic acid/HOPG interface.

In the present investigation, we reported the fabrication of a chicken-wire porous 2D network formed by triphenylene-2,6,10-tricarboxylic acid (H3TTCA) at the liquid–solid interface. When coronene (COR) molecules were added into the system, the H3TTCA honey-comb network was broken and the reconstructed structures of the H3TTCA/COR host–guest systems were subsequently formed. Scanning tunneling microscopic (STM) measurements and density function theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to reveal the structural variety in the co-assembly of H3TTCA/COR controlled by the solution concentration at 1-heptanoic acid/HOPG interface.