  Self-decoupled tetrapodal perylene molecules were designed, synthesized, and
deposited on the Au(111) surface through the electrosprayionization technique.
Photoluminescence and lifetime measurements show that the chromophore groups of
the designed molecules are welldecoupled from the gold substrate. Preliminary
scanning tunneling microscopy induced luminescence measurements indicate
theobservation of molecule-specific emissions from isolated single tetrapodal
perylene molecules adsorbed directly on Au(111). The emergenceof significant
emission when the tip is positioned at the molecular center suggests that there
is a considerable vertical component of the transitiondipole of the designed
molecule along the tip axial direction. Our results may open up a route for the
realization of nanolight sourcesand plasmonic devices based on organic
molecules.
