Local structure and assembly of formate adsorbed on Ni(1Â 1Â 0): Low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy study

Adsorption behavior of formate (HCOO−) on Ni(1 1 0) surface has been investigated using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at cryogenic temperature. L- and S-formates assemble to form dimers, trimers and short chains through thermal diffusion. This characteristic development of the formate chain is caused by anisotropic lateral interaction between neighboring formate molecules.