Element-specific cluster growth on the two-dimensional metal–organic network

A porous two-dimensional metal–organic network (2D-MON) on a substrate captures deposited metal atoms and metal clusters growing in the pores of the 2D-MON. We found that the growth mechanisms of Ag, In, and Pd clusters in the 2D-MON synthesized from 1,3,5-tris(4-bromophenyl)benzene molecules on Ag(111) are different from each other, and the difference derives from the interaction of an adatom with the 2D-MON. Ag and Pd clusters grow from the 2D-MON since the interaction of Ag and Pd adatoms with the 2D-MON is attractive. In clusters grow inside of the pores of the 2D-MON since the interaction between an In adatom and the 2D-MON is repulsive. The growth process of metal clusters is determined by the element-specific behavior of metal adatoms in the pores, taking into account interactions with the 2D-MON.