C-60 forms nonequilibrium disordered islands on the Si(110) surface wh
ich progressively decay over several weeks. Over the same period order
ed islands with a minimum height of three monolayers are observed to g
row. This process has been monitored using an ultrahigh vacuum scannin
g tunneling microscope operating at room temperature. We discuss these
observations in terms of the van der Waals interaction between C-60 m
olecules and argue that the initial formation of the disordered phase
is kinetically driven.