Delighted to see this collaborative work out on the orientation of NHCs on surfaces. More complicated than thiols, but you CAN control upright vs. flat lying by control over sterics at the N substituents (bulkier=upright) and backbone, if you destabilize flat-lying.
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
The effect of wingtip groups on the orientation of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on a variety of metal surfaces has received considerable attention. However, the ...
