"Soft" metallic contact to isolated C60 molecules

C60 adsorbed on a monolayer of hexaazatriphenylene-hexanitrile (HATCN) on Ag(111) is investigated by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy. UPS and quantum-mechanical modeling show that HATCN chemisorbed on Ag(111) displays metallic character. This metallic molecular layer decouples C60 electronically from the Ag substrate and simultaneously acts both as template for the stable adsorption of isolated C60 molecules at room temperature and as "soft" metallic contact for subsequently deposited molecules.