Guanine adsorption on the Cu(110) surface

► The electronic structure and adsorption geometry of guanine on Cu(110) have been investigated. ► In the multilayer the molecules interact via hydrogen bonding, it causes a significant core level shift. ► At low coverage guanine chemisorbs on Cu(110) via oxygen and nitrogen atoms, and dehydrogenation of nitrogen may occur.► The orientation of the molecule changes with coverage.