Two-leg molecular ladders formed by hierarchical self-assembly of an organic radical

The supramolecular organization of a new polychlorotriphenyl (PTM) radical bearing three long alkyl chains is analyzed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at the liquid-solid interface. The radical has self-assembled hierarchically on graphite forming head-to-head dimers that is organized in rows following a spin-containing two-leg molecular ladder topology, in which the alkyl chains have determined the space between the radical rows and have acted as diamagnetic barriers.