Abstract: The major results of a series of our recent investigations on the adsorption of eight amino acids on Cu(001) and (111) surfaces are reviewed in the present paper. In all studied cases the molecules adsorb onto the surface in their anionic form. With the increase of the coverage three different 2D phases of the adsorbates, that is, the 2D lattice gas, intermediate, and solid phases, appear sequentially, although for few systems one or two of them do not appear. In both the 2D lattice gas and intermediate phases the molecules "stand" with their two oxygen "feet" on the surface and the intermolecular interactions are repulsive, although in the former they can diffuse frequently whereas in the latter they are discommensurate in one direction with the substrate. In the solid phase the molecules "lie" down on the surface to form commensurate superstructures. Adsorption of amino acids may often induce step faceting as well as bunching to form facets. Adsorption of L-lysine on Cu(001) may cause steps bunching to form facets with all the same chirality. Our preliminary results show that it is possible to manipulate individual molecules with the STM tip even at room temperature. These results may have applications in nano-materials, nano-technology, and very likely also in chiral separations or enantioselective heterogeneous catalysis.

Key words: amino acids, single crystal metal surfaces, adsorption, organic molecules, hydrogen bonds, step faceting, chirality, scanning  tunneling microscopy (STM)