Adsorption structure of macrocyclic energetic molecule DOATF on Au(111)

Furazan macrocyclic compound 3,4:7,8:11,12:15,16-tetrafurazan-1,9-dioxazo-5,13-diazocyclohexadecane(DOATF)is an ideal energetic material with high heat of formation.Here,using scanning tunneling microscopy(STM)and noncontact atomic force microscopy(nc-AFM),we investigated the adsorption structure of DOATF molecules on Au(111)surface,which shows the four furanzan rings in the STM images and a bright protrusion off the center of the molecule in the nc-AFM images.Combined with density functional theory(DFT)calculations,we confirmed that the bright feature in the nc-AFM images is an N-O coordinate bond pointing upwards in one of the two azoxy groups;while the other N-O bond pointing towards the Au(111)surface.Our work contributes for a deeper understanding of the adsorption structure of macrocyclic compounds,which would promote the designing of DOATF-metal frameworks.