Cover Picture

Peng Wu, Qingdao Zeng, Shandong Xu, Chen Wang, Shuxia Yin,and Chun-Li Bai

The cover picture shows the exquisite control alkyl chains have over the configuration ofa molecular superlattice. The background STM image of a self-assembled monolayer ofhexakis(dodecyloxy)-substituted triphenylene molecules on a graphite substrate suggestsan essentially hexagonal and highly symmetric packing. The lower left corner presents ahigher-resolution image (13� 13 nm2), in which the interlacing alkoxy chains thatdetermine this packing are detailed; in the top right the C12-subsituted molecules aremodeled. For C16 and higher alkoxy chains, the hexagonal form has buckled into lamellarpacking, while C14 chains occupy a critical transition point. Find out more in theCommunication by Bai et al. on pages 750±754.