Self-assembly of 4-(amyloxy) cinnamic acid on HOPG and its photoinduced transformation: An STM study
Self-assembly of 4-（amyloxy） cinnamic acid on HOPG and its photoinduced transformation： An STM study

Light-induced structural transformation of 4-(amyloxy)cinnamic acid (AOCA) on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). AOCA molecules form highly-ordered adlayer on HOPG spontaneously, stabilized by hydrogen bonding between neighboring molecules. After UV-light irradiation onto the adlayer, the ordered ad- layer was disrupted and a new disordered structure was observed, which indicated that dimerization of AOCA molecules took place. The STM results reveal the direct evidence for the photoisomerization of cin- namic acid at atom level.