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[Ryohei Nemoto](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7343-7268), [Xiangzhi Meng](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7887-4240), Behzad Mortezapour, [Alexander Weismann](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2487-3917), Saya Nakano, [Masahisa Tsuchiizu](https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2975-8096), [Ryuichi Arafune](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4371-6116), Noriaki Takagi, Sho Nakamura, [Katsunori Wakabayashi](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9147-9939), [Rie Suizu](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7632-2186), [Richard Berndt](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1165-9065), [Takashi Uchihashi](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0811-5665), [Kunio Awaga](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2193-0747)

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[Direct Observationof the Zigzag Edge States of aSupramolecular Diatomic Kagome Lattice](https://mdr.nims.go.jp/datasets/2470b0cb-b2ad-49e6-b72f-b8a1096af008)

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Direct Observation of the Zigzag Edge States of a SupramolecularDiatomic Kagome LatticeRyohei Nemoto, Xiangzhi Meng, Behzad Mortezapour, Alexander Weismann,* Saya Nakano,Masahisa Tsuchiizu, Ryuichi Arafune, Noriaki Takagi, Sho Nakamura, Katsunori Wakabayashi,Rie Suizu,* Richard Berndt, Takashi Uchihashi,* and Kunio AwagaCite This: Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−12152 Read OnlineACCESS Metrics & More Article Recommendations *sı Supporting InformationABSTRACT: Lattice geometry plays a fundamental role in thebehavior of Bloch electrons in a crystal. The diatomic Kagomelattice, an extension of the honeycomb and Kagome lattices, ispredicted to give rise to emergent and topological phenomena, butits experimental investigation has been limited thus far. Here, wefabricate a diatomic Kagome lattice through self-assembly of atriptycene derivative with phenazine moieties (Trip-Phz)�a C3-symmetric, nonplanar π-conjugated molecule. Our scanningtunneling microscopy (STM) observations show that Trip-Phzforms a highly ordered diatomic Kagome lattice terminated byzigzag-type edges on the Pb(111) surface. Combined STMmeasurements and tight-binding calculations provide direct evidence for the existence of the edge states that correspond tothose of graphene. These states are topological edge states dictated by the quantization of the Zak phase and the bulk-edgecorrespondence. This work reveals an ideal platform for exploring quantum materials with unique lattice geometries usingsupramolecular technology.KEYWORDS: Diatomic-Kagome lattice, Edge states, Zak phase, Self-assembly, Nonplanar π-conjugated molecules,Scanning tunneling microscopyLattice geometry profoundly affects the behavior ofitinerant electrons in a crystal and is central to themodern research on quantum materials and technologies.1−3The honeycomb and Kagome lattices, the latter of whichconsists of corner-sharing triangles with enclosed hexagons, aretwo-dimensional (2D) lattices that have been studied the mostintensively in the past decade.4−6 Tight-binding (TB)calculations predict the formation of linearly intersectingbands (Dirac bands) for both lattices and a nearlydispersionless band (flat band) originating from geometricfrustration for the Kagome lattice.7,8 These remarkable bandstructures possess nontrivial topology and can be subject tostrong electron correlation effects due to a vanishing kineticenergy, leading to rich emergent phenomena such as quantumanomalous Hall effect and superconductivity.9−16The honeycomb lattice can be extended in such a way thattriangles with an internal coupling constant t0 are placed at thelattice nodes while they are coupled to their nearest neighborswith t1 (see Figure 1(a)). This can also be viewed as anextended Kagome lattice, where the vertices of the triangularunits are connected by a diatomic pair (indicated by thedashed orange line in Figure 1(a)). This diatomic Kagomelattice, also called the star lattice because of its shape, can beregarded as a hybrid of the two basic lattices.17−19 TBcalculations predict the formation of four Dirac bands and twoflat bands, the topology of which is switched by tuning theratio t0/t1.20−23 Recently, the diatomic Kagome lattice hasattracted theoretical attention and is predicted to exhibit novelquantum states such as second-order topological states andexcitonic insulators.21,22,24−26 However, its experimentalinvestigation has been limited so far.22,27,28 Particularly, theone-dimensional edge states corresponding to those ofgraphene,29−33 which connect the projected Dirac points inmomentum space and exhibit nanoscale magnetism, have notbeen observed yet. The diatomic Kagome lattice may havesuch edge states, but the very existence of them is unclearbecause there is no chiral symmetry that protects the edgestates of graphene.21,22,31,34 Here, we report direct observationsof the edge states of a diatomic Kagome lattice, which is madeof supramolecular assembly of a triptycene derivative withReceived: June 30, 2026Revised: August 13, 2026Accepted: August 20, 2026Published: September 2, 2026Letterpubs.acs.org/NanoLett© 2026 The Authors. Published byAmerican Chemical Society12146https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−12152This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0Downloaded from pubs.​acs.​org/​nalefd/​article-pdf/​26/​36/​12146/​68183409/​acs.​nanolett.​6c03195.​pdf by NATL INST FOR MATLS SCIENCE (NIMS) user on 17 September 2026https://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Ryohei+Nemoto"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Xiangzhi+Meng"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Behzad+Mortezapour"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Alexander+Weismann"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Saya+Nakano"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Masahisa+Tsuchiizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Masahisa+Tsuchiizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Ryuichi+Arafune"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Noriaki+Takagi"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Sho+Nakamura"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Katsunori+Wakabayashi"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Rie+Suizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Rie+Suizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Richard+Berndt"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Takashi+Uchihashi"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Kunio+Awaga"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?goto=articleMetrics&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?goto=recommendations&?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?goto=supporting-info&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=tgr1&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/toc/nalefd/26/36?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/toc/nalefd/26/36?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/toc/nalefd/26/36?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/toc/nalefd/26/36?ref=pdfpubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org?ref=pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-ashttps://pubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/phenazine moieties (Trip-Phz) on the Pb(111) surface. Ourscanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations reveal thatTrip-Phz forms well-ordered molecular lattices, terminated bystraight boundaries that correspond to the graphene zigzagedge. The spectroscopic signatures of the Dirac and flat bandsare confirmed using STM and TB calculations. Mostimportantly, we provide direct evidence for the existence ofedge states that corresponds to those of graphene. These statesare topological edge states dictated by the quantization of theZak phase and the bulk-edge correspondence. This studyprovides solid experimental evidence for the edge states in thediatomic Kagome lattice and significantly expands the scope ofquantum material research driven by lattice geometry.Our strategy for creating the diatomic Kagome lattice inFigure 1(a) is based on supramolecular chemistry using Trip-Phz.35,36 This type of triptycene derivative molecule comprisesthree π-conjugated planes as moieties assembled in anonplanar configuration, featuring a rigid Y-shape with thestrict C3 symmetry. They can form a highly ordered 2D latticeby π−π pancake bonding between the moieties in a solutionand on a substrate surface20,35−41 With the centers ofmolecules located at the honeycomb nodes and the orbitalsof the moieties arranged in a triangular form around them, itcan form an ideal diatomic Kagome lattice (Figure 1(b)). Thismolecular assembly is chiral when formed on a surface; thechirality here is referred to as left-handed, while its mirror-symmetric counterpart as right-handed, in this work.36 Wenote that the chirality mentioned here is geometrical andshould not be confused with the chiral symmetry of graphene,which is determined by the structure of the Hamiltonian18 (seeSupporting Note 1). Figure 1 panels (a) and (b) also showbasic edge structures of the diatomic Kagome and Trip-Phzlattices, respectively (green rectangles). This type of edge isreferred to as zigzag edge here because it matches that of thehoneycomb lattice in the limit of t0 → ∞ (i.e., when thetriangles are reduced to points).We first study the structure of self-assembled moleculesusing STM (for details, see Supporting Information, Methods).Figure 2(a) shows a representative, large-scale, constant-current image of Trip-Phz molecules with an average coverageof ∼0.3 monolayers (ML) on a Pb(111) surface. We find amonolayer molecular island (100 × 80 nm2) consisting of asingle well-ordered domain. Its boundaries are predominantlystraight. Figure 2 panels (b) and (c) present more detailedtopographs of the same island, acquired at V = 1.5 and − 2.0 V,respectively. These STM images reflect the real-spacedistribution of the LUMO+1 orbital and the shape of theTrip-Phz molecular framework, respectively; the LUMO+1states are located at V = 1.5 V while there exist no HOMOstates at V = −2.0 V, as will be revealed below. The overlaidwhite Y-shaped lines indicate the molecular frames. Evidently,Trip-Phz molecules are arranged in the form of the diatomicKagome lattice with left-handed chirality, as in Figure 1(b).The lattice parameter of the island was determined to be 1.92± 0.04 nm, and the azimuthal rotation angle of the latticerelative to the principal orientations of the Pb(111) surface51.3 ± 2°. Assuming a commensurate epitaxy on the Pb(111)lattice, the only possible superstructure is Pb(111)-×( 31 31 )R51°, with a lattice constant of a31 0 = 1.95nm, where a0 = 0.350 nm is the nearest-neighbor distance ofthe Pb(111) surface. We also found a molecular arrangementwith the right-handed chirality, which can be denoted asPb(111)- ×( 31 31 )R9° (see Supporting Information,Figure S1).Next, we investigate the spectroscopic features of the “bulk”region of an island, sufficiently away from the edges (Figure2(d)). The STM topograph of this area is shown in the inset,where the locations of the molecules are indicated by Y-shapedlines. The dI/dV spectrum averaged over the Trip-Phz lattice(excluding the pore sites) is displayed in red, while a spectrumaveraged over a bare Pb(111) surface is plotted in gray as areference. On the positive energy side, two peaks are clearlyvisible at V = 1.1 and 1.4 V (indicated by solid lines). Since thelowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and LUMO+1of Trip-Phz are located at −2.57 and −2.16 eV below thevacuum level, respectively (Supporting Information, FigureFigure 1. Diagram of the diatomic Kagome lattice. (a) Mathematicalmodel with intracorner coupling t0 and intercorner coupling t1. Thelattice can be regarded as an extension of the honeycomb and Kagomelattices. The dashed orange line indicates a diatomic pair coupled witht1.(b) Materialization of the diatomic Kagome lattice using Trip-Phzmolecules, where t0 and t1 represent intra- and intermolecularcouplings, respectively. The gray symbols represent the C3-symmetricframe of Trip-Phz molecules. Left-handed chirality is chosen for thisdisplay. The green rectangles indicate the zigzag-type edgecorresponding to that of graphene.Figure 2. STM observations of the diatomic Kagome lattice of Trip-Phz on Pb(111). (a) Large-area STM topographs recorded using I =10 pA and V = 1.8 V. (b, c) Detailed topographs acquired using (b) V= 1.5 V and (c) − 2.0 V. (d) dI/dV spectrum averaged over themolecular network of Trip-Phz (red dots) and a reference spectrumon a bare Pb(111) (gray dots). Inset: STM topograph of the relevantarea recorded using V = 2.0 V, I = 50 pA. (e, f) dI/dV images takenover the same area as in (d) using (e) V = 1.1 V and (f) 1.4 V. For theimages in (b−f), the molecular adsorption geometries are denoted bywhite Y-shaped lines.Nano Letters pubs.acs.org/NanoLett Letterhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−1215212147Downloaded from pubs.​acs.​org/​nalefd/​article-pdf/​26/​36/​12146/​68183409/​acs.​nanolett.​6c03195.​pdf by NATL INST FOR MATLS SCIENCE (NIMS) user on 17 September 2026https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig1&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig1&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig1&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig1&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig2&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig2&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig2&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig2&ref=pdfpubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-asS2),35 those peaks can be attributed to molecular bandsderived from them. By contrast, on the negative energy side ofthe spectrum, no HOMO states are discernible down to V =−2.0 V. Figure 2 panels (e) and (f) display dI/dV mapsacquired at V = 1.1 and 1.4 V, respectively, in the same area.For both voltages, the bright spots are located between thethree arms of the molecules. These spots can be interpreted asthe LUMOs of Trip-Phz, since the LUMOs protrude from theπ-conjugated planes of the molecular moieties in the normaldirection (Supporting Information, Figure S2). These statesshould hardly overlap with those of the Pb(111) surfacebecause they are oriented parallel to the surface.36 This isadvantageous for observing the intrinsic molecular states. Fordiscussions on the molecule−substrate interaction, seeSupporting Note 2.We now focus on an area including the edge of the Trip-Phzlattice. The topograph of Figure 3(a) reveals that this edgebelongs to the zigzag edge defined above, as is evident from theoverlaid black Y-shaped markers. The image also shows thatthe chirality is left-handed. Repeated STM observations of aboundary region confirmed that it was dominated by the zigzagtype. This is in striking contrast to the honeycomb lattice ofgraphene, for which armchair edges are predominantlyformed.32 Figure 3(d) shows dI/dV spectra taken at selectedsites within the area of Figure 3(a). The green dots representthe data averaged over an area far from the edge (green squarein Figure 3(a)). They reveal that the two peaks identified inFigure 2(d) actually include four features, as indicated by thesolid lines. Their positions were determined from d3I/dV3(brown dots), which was obtained by taking the secondFigure 3. Spectroscopic evidence of the zigzag edge states and the Dirac and flat bands of the diatomic Kagome lattice of Trip-Phz. (a) Topographof the zigzag edge structure with left-handed chirality, recorded using V = 1.6 V, I = 50 pA. (b) dI/dV image taken at V = 1.42 V over the areashown in (a). (c) dI/dV image obtained under the same conditions from a Trip-Phz lattice with right-handed chirality. (d) Upper panel: dI/dVspectrum acquired within the green square in (a) (green dots). The positions of the peak and shoulders were determined from d3I/dV3 (browndots), which was obtained by taking the second derivative of dI/dV with respect to V. Lower panel: dI/dV spectra acquired near the edge. Thecolors of the dots correspond to those in (a); red for the first row (closest to the edge), blue for the second row, and purple for the third row.Figure 4. Results of tight-binding (TB) calculations for the diatomic Kagome lattice of Trip-Phz. (a) Band structure in the ky direction (left panel,blue lines) and the corresponding density of states (DOS) (right panel, blue lines). The edge states located between the bulk bands n and n + 1 aredenoted as ESn. The projected band structure and the corresponding DOS of TB-calculated bulk states are shown by the gray regions. The arrowsindicate peaks due to the edge states. (b) Spatial distributions of the edge states of ES5 at ky = −π (top panel) and ES2 at ky = 0 (bottom panel)indicated by red dots in (a). Red circles mark the locations of the edge states. The diameter of each circle is proportional to the local DOS of thecorresponding states. (c) Illustration of the Brillouin zones of the diatomic Kagome lattice, where the Zak phase is defined along the path C. (d)The Zak phases calculated for the individual bulk bands n = 1, 2, ..., 6 as a function of ky.Nano Letters pubs.acs.org/NanoLett Letterhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−1215212148Downloaded from pubs.​acs.​org/​nalefd/​article-pdf/​26/​36/​12146/​68183409/​acs.​nanolett.​6c03195.​pdf by NATL INST FOR MATLS SCIENCE (NIMS) user on 17 September 2026https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig3&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig3&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig3&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig3&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig4&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig4&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig4&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?fig=fig4&ref=pdfpubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-asderivative of dI/dV with respect to V: V = 0.99 and 1.11 V forone and V = 1.39 and 1.48 V for the other. An additional weakpeak may also exist at V = 1.17 V (dotted line). These featureswere repeatedly observed at locations far from the edge (seeSupporting Information, Figure S3). By contrast, the spectraacquired near the edge (red, first row; blue, second row;purple, third row; see also Figure 3(a)) all exhibit pronouncedpeaks at V = 1.42 V. This strongly suggests the presence ofedge states centered at V = 1.42 V. Indeed, a dI/dV imagetaken at this voltage reveals bright spots localized on the firstthree rows of the edge, clarifying the spatial distribution of thezigzag edge states (Figure 3(b)). They are observable onlyaround V = 1.42 V, in agreement with the pronounced peaks ofthe dI/dV spectra at this voltage. As expected from thesymmetry, molecular lattices with right-handed chirality alsoexhibit edge states, as revealed in the dI/dV image in Figure3(c). The weaker appearance of the edge states for thischirality can be attributed to larger spatial fluctuations in thedI/dV signal caused by disorder. The presence of the edgestates at V = 1.42 V can also be confirmed in a wider area (seeSupporting Information, Figure S3(c)). A line profile taken inthe normal direction shows that the dI/dV intensities at theedge region are significantly larger, on average, than those inthe inner bulk area (Figure S3(d)). We note that the dI/dVspectra acquired on the second and third rows includeshoulders at V = 1.05, 1.20, and 1.31 V (solid lines).Furthermore, dI/dV images acquired around V = 1.20 V revealhigher intensities near these rows (see Supporting Information,Figure S4 and Movie S1). They suggest the presence of edgestates at these voltages, although they are not as conspicuous asthose observed around V = 1.42 V.To interpret our experimental results, we performed TBcalculations. The model is based on the diatomic Kagomelattice depicted in Figure 1, where the intramolecular couplingt0 and intermolecular coupling t1 represent the mutual overlapof the LUMOs of the phenazine moieties. Although thesubstrate is not included in the calculations, it gives only aminor effect on the molecular band structure.36 The absence ofthe Shockley surface states on Pb(111) within the relevantenergy region also rationalizes this treatment (see SupportingInformation, Figure S5). The molecular lattice was terminatedby zigzag edges in the x direction, while a periodic boundarycondition was imposed in the y direction. The transfer integralst0 = −0.141 eV and t1 = −0.096 eV were determined from theLUMO level splitting of Trip-Phz and a pair of phenazinemoieties, respectively, through density functional theory(DFT) calculations (see Supporting Information, Methods).The left panel of Figure 4(a) displays the obtained bandstructures in the ky direction, which shows the energydispersions parallel to the edges (blue lines). In agreementwith previous work, two pairs of Dirac bands (n = 2, 3, 5, 6)are formed, with the projected Dirac points located at E =−2.63 and −2.17 eV (indicated by open circles).20−22,36 Thelower Dirac bands accompany two flat bands (n = 1, 4) at thetop and bottom ends. These are characteristic of the diatomicKagome lattice with t0/t1 > 2/3, t0, t1 < 0. Importantly, becauseof the termination in the x direction, edge states emerge withinsome of the band gaps; the states located between the bulkbands n and n + 1 are denoted as ESn. While ES5 locatedaround ky = ±π corresponds to the edge states of graphene,ES1, ES2, and ES3 are distinct because they span differentmomentum spaces. The right panel of Figure 4(a) shows thecorresponding density of states (DOS). The edge states appearas sharp peaks (indicated by black arrows) in addition to thosedue to the van Hove singularity (vHS) within the bulk bands.Figure 4(b) shows the spatial distributions of the edge statesES5 at ky = −π (top panel) and ES2 at ky = 0 (bottom panel)indicated by red dots in Figure 4(a). The diameter of the redcircles on the molecular sites is proportional to the local DOS.Their spatial dependence shows that ES5 are localized to thefirst through third rows of the zigzag edges. By contrast, ES2extend slightly deeper into the interior.Our spectroscopic data can largely be explained by thesetheoretical predictions. We note that the bands obtainedthrough the TB calculations can be shifted rigidly forcomparison to experimental data. Regarding the dI/dVspectrum in the central region of the Trip-Phz lattice (Figure3(d), green dots), the shoulders at V = 0.99 and 1.11 V can beassigned to the two vHS peaks of the lower Dirac bands (n = 2,3) and the two flat bands (n = 1, 4). Only two peaks out of thefour are visible, probably because of the proximity of the flatbands to the neighboring vHS peaks and level broadening dueto disorder. Indeed, the weak feature at V = 1.17 V may beassigned to one of the four DOS peaks. The peak and shoulderat V = 1.39 and 1.48 V are attributed to the two vHS peaks inthe upper Dirac bands (n = 5, 6). Regarding the spectra in thefirst through third rows (Figure 3(d), red, blue, and purpledots), the peaks at V = 1.42 V are assigned to the edge stateES5. The bright features along the zigzag edges in the dI/dVimages (Figure 3(b),(c)) also correspond well to the spatialdistribution of ES5 (Figure 4(b), top panel). By contrast, theassignment of the spectroscopic features observed in thesecond and third rows at V values of 1.05, 1.20, and 1.31 V isnot straightforward. We speculate that multiple contributionsfrom the edge states ES1, ES2, and ES3 as well as Dirac and flatbands form the observed spectra.Here, we show that the edge states found above have atopological origin associated with the Zak phase. The Zakphase is a Berry phase across an appropriately chosen one-dimensional Brillouin zone.42,43 For an intuitive picture of theZak phase, refer to Supporting Note 3. In the present case, apath C is chosen at a constant ky within the 2D Brillouin zoneas shown by the red arrow in Figure 4(c). The Zak phaseZn(ky) for a band n is given by the following equations:=Z k A k k k( ) ( , ) dn y n x y x (1)=A k k u k kku k k( , ) i ( , ) ( , )n x y n x yxn x y(2)where An(kx, ky) is the Berry connection and |un(kx, ky)⟩ is theBloch wave function. In the presence of inversion symmetry,Zn(ky) is quantized to 0 or π (mod 2π), which is valid for thediatomic Kagome lattice. The presence of the edge states isdictated through the bulk-edge correspondence by thesummation of Zn(ky) over n==Z k Z k( ) ( )ynNn y1 (3)where N refers to the number of bands below a relevant energygap. If Z(ky) = π (mod 2π), the system is topologicallynontrivial and the edge states appear in this gap. Otherwise,i.e., if Z(ky) = 0 (mod 2π), the edge states are absent. Figure4(d) shows the Zak phase calculated for the diatomic Kagomelattice with t0 = −0.141 eV and t1 = 0.096 eV, demonstratingNano Letters pubs.acs.org/NanoLett Letterhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−1215212149Downloaded from pubs.​acs.​org/​nalefd/​article-pdf/​26/​36/​12146/​68183409/​acs.​nanolett.​6c03195.​pdf by NATL INST FOR MATLS SCIENCE (NIMS) user on 17 September 2026https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_001.mp4https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfpubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-asthe quantization to 0 or π. The summation over n = 1, 2, ..., 5leads to Z(ky) = π (mod 2π) for 2π/3 < |ky| < π and 0 forelsewhere. This exactly corresponds to the presence of theedge states ES5 within 2π/3 < |ky| < π. The other edge statescan also be dictated in the same manner. Thus, the edge statesfound here have a topological origin associated with thequantization of the Zak phase, which dictates their existencethrough the bulk-edge correspondence. They can be regardedas a generalization of the zigzag edge states of graphene in asystem without the chiral symmetry.Recently, Hu et al. predicted through TB calculations thatedge states exist within an energy gap for certain types ofdiatomic Kagome lattice.21,22 They also showed the existenceof corner states as second-order topological states in the sameenergy gap. Both of them were observed by dI/dV imagingusing STM. Our TB parameters t0/t1 > 2/3, t0, t1 < 0 precludesuch states, but nevertheless, it will be worth searching forthem by tuning molecular parameters. Indeed, the ratio t0/t1 issensitive to the molecular lattice constant, which in turn istunable by choosing an appropriate substrate.36 Telychko et al.and Yin et al. reported the formation of diatomic Kagomelattices by confining the Shockley surface states of noble metalsusing molecular templates.27,28 The latter authors alsoobserved edge states around the boundary of a molecularisland in the gap region of a breathing Kagome lattice. Theedge states observed in the present work are derived frommolecular orbitals that form an intrinsic tight-binding lattice.They are connected to the projected Dirac points andtherefore have a different origin.Finally, we remark on the prospects of the present study.Recently, Kagome-related materials have been one of thehottest topics in condensed-matter physics9−16 For thispurpose, various layered inorganic materials have beensynthesized, but it still remains challenging to design andfind appropriate systems. This is because the complicatedinteractions between multiple atomic sites and orbitals oftendestroy the electronic properties predicted by theoreticalmodels.44 By contrast, as demonstrated here, it is possible tofabricate a nearly ideal 2D lattice using chemically designednonplanar π-conjugated molecules as building blocks. Theupright configuration of the moiety planes enhances intralayercoupling while suppressing coupling with the substrate andneighboring stacking layers. The use of other nonplanar π-conjugated molecules also appears promising; for example,triptycene trithianthrene (TTA) forms a layered crystal with abreathing Kagome lattice in a solution.23,45 This will be thesubject of a forthcoming study.In summary, we successfully fabricated a highly ordereddiatomic Kagome lattice through the self-assembly of Trip-Phzon Pb(111), which was predominantly terminated by zigzag-type edges. Our STM measurements and TB calculationsprovided direct evidence of the zigzag edge states thatcorrespond to those of graphene within a pair of Diracbands. They are topological states given by the quantization ofthe Zak phase and bulk-edge correspondence. This work offersa new platform based on supramolecular technology forexploring quantum materials with unique lattice geometries.■ ASSOCIATED CONTENT*sı Supporting InformationThe Supporting Information is available free of charge athttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195.Bias voltage dependence of dI/dV images (MP4)Preparation and purification of Trip-Phz, samplepreparation and STM measurements, tight-binding andDFT calculations, and references (Methods); the biasvoltage dependence of high-resolution STM topographsof a Trip-Phz island (Figure S1), the energy levels andspatial distributions of the LUMOs (Figure S2), dI/dVspectra obtained in a bulk region of a Trip-Phz lattice(Figure S3), the edge states of Trip-Phz lattices observedin the same area as in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) (Figure S4),and electronic band structure of Pb(111) (Figure S5);Supporting Note 1: Chiral symmetry of graphene;honeycomb lattice of graphene (Figure S6); SupportingNote 2: Molecule-substrate interaction and the effect ofspin-orbit interaction; Supporting Note 3: An intuitivepicture of the Zak phase; Intuitive picture of the Zakphase and the bulk-edge correspondence (Figure S7)(PDF)■ AUTHOR INFORMATIONCorresponding AuthorsAlexander Weismann − Institut für Experimentelle undAngewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 24098Kiel, Germany; orcid.org/0000-0003-2487-3917;Email: weismann@physik.uni-kiel.deRie Suizu − Synchrotron Light Application Center, SagaUniversity, Saga 840-8502, Japan; Department of Chemistryand IRCCS, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan;Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), PRESTO,Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; orcid.org/0000-0001-7632-2186; Email: rsuizu@cc.saga-u.ac.jpTakashi Uchihashi − Research Center for MaterialsNanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute forMaterials Science, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan; GraduateSchool of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810,Japan; orcid.org/0000-0003-0811-5665;Email: UCHIHASHI.Takashi@nims.go.jpAuthorsRyohei Nemoto − Research Center for MaterialsNanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute forMaterials Science, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan; Department ofPhysics, School of Science, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo152-8551, Japan; orcid.org/0000-0002-7343-7268Xiangzhi Meng − Institut für Experimentelle und AngewandtePhysik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 24098 Kiel,Germany; orcid.org/0000-0001-7887-4240Behzad Mortezapour − Institut für Experimentelle undAngewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 24098Kiel, GermanySaya Nakano − Department of Physics, Nara Women’sUniversity, Nara 630-8506, JapanMasahisa Tsuchiizu − Department of Physics, Nara Women’sUniversity, Nara 630-8506, Japan; orcid.org/0009-0002-2975-8096Ryuichi Arafune − Research Center for MaterialsNanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute forMaterials Science, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan; orcid.org/0000-0003-4371-6116Noriaki Takagi − Graduate School of Human andEnvironmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501,JapanNano Letters pubs.acs.org/NanoLett Letterhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195Nano Lett. 2026, 26, 12146−1215212150Downloaded from pubs.​acs.​org/​nalefd/​article-pdf/​26/​36/​12146/​68183409/​acs.​nanolett.​6c03195.​pdf by NATL INST FOR MATLS SCIENCE (NIMS) user on 17 September 2026https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?goto=supporting-infohttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_001.mp4https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195/suppl_file/nl6c03195_si_002.pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Alexander+Weismann"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2487-3917mailto:weismann@physik.uni-kiel.dehttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Rie+Suizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7632-2186https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7632-2186mailto:rsuizu@cc.saga-u.ac.jphttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Takashi+Uchihashi"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0811-5665mailto:UCHIHASHI.Takashi@nims.go.jphttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Ryohei+Nemoto"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7343-7268https://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Xiangzhi+Meng"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7887-4240https://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Behzad+Mortezapour"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Saya+Nakano"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Masahisa+Tsuchiizu"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-2975-8096https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2975-8096https://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Ryuichi+Arafune"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4371-6116https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4371-6116https://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Noriaki+Takagi"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfhttps://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=Contrib&text1="Sho+Nakamura"&field2=AllField&text2=&publication=&accessType=allContent&Earliest=&ref=pdfpubs.acs.org/NanoLett?ref=pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-asSho Nakamura − School of Science and Technology, KwanseiGakuin University, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1330, JapanKatsunori Wakabayashi − Research Center for MaterialsNanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute forMaterials Science, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan; School ofScience and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda,Hyogo 669-1330, Japan; orcid.org/0000-0002-9147-9939Richard Berndt − Institut für Experimentelle und AngewandtePhysik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 24098 Kiel,Germany; orcid.org/0000-0003-1165-9065Kunio Awaga − National Institute of Technology (KOSEN),Toyota College, Toyota, Aichi 471-8525, Japan; Departmentof Chemistry and IRCCS, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan; orcid.org/0000-0002-2193-0747Complete contact information is available at:https://pubs.acs.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03195NotesThe authors declare no competing financial interest.■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis work was supported financially by JSPS KAKENHI(Grant Numbers 25H00867, 25K01670, 20H05621,20H02707, 23K03322, 25K01609, 22H05473), Japan Scienceand Technology Agency (JST) PRESTO Grant JPMJPR21A9,and World Premier International Research Center (WPI)Initiative on Materials Nanoarchitectonics, MEXT, Japan.■ REFERENCES(1) Leykam, D.; Andreanov, A.; Flach, S. 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