TY - JOUR A1 - T. N. Ha, Nguyen A1 - Gopakumar, Thiruvancheril G. A1 - D. C. Yen, Nguyen A1 - Mende, Carola A1 - Smykalla, Lars A1 - Schlesinger, Maik A1 - Buschbeck, Roy A1 - Rüffer, Tobias A1 - Lang, Heinrich A1 - Mehring, Michael A1 - Hietschold, Michael T1 - Ester formation at the liquid–solid interface JF - Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology PY - 2017/// VL - 8 SP - 2139 EP - 2150 SN - 2190-4286 DO - 10.3762/bjnano.8.213 PB - Beilstein-Institut JA - Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. UR - https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.8.213 KW - on-surface reaction KW - scanning tunneling microscopy KW - trimesic acid KW - undecan-1-ol N2 - A chemical reaction (esterification) within a molecular monolayer at the liquid–solid interface without any catalyst was studied using ambient scanning tunneling microscopy. The monolayer consisted of a regular array of two species, an organic acid (trimesic acid) and an alcohol (undecan-1-ol or decan-1-ol), coadsorbed out of a solution of the acid within the alcohol at the interface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) (0001) substrate. The monoester was observed promptly after reaching a threshold either related to the increased packing density of the adsorbate layer (which can be controlled by the concentration of the trimesic acid within the alcoholic solution via sonication or extended stirring) or by reaching a threshold with regards to the deposition temperature. Evidence that esterification takes place directly at the liquid–solid interface was strongly supported. ER -