Iron(II) 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octabutoxyphthalocyanine complex (Fe(OBu)(8)Pc) was synthesized and deposited on nano-cratered titanium dioxide thin films on a glass substrate. The TiO2 thin films had been selectively modified with bifunctional 2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate, which binds to the nano-cratered TiO2 surface from its phosphate group, but leaves the glass substrate unmodified, creating hence a nano-patterned amino-functionalized surface. n-Butyl amine was used as a model ligand to examine the ability of Fe(OBu)(8)Pc to bind with amino groups in a solution state. According to H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance and UV-Vis measurements, two separate amino groups can bind to the axial sites of Fe(OBu)(8)Pc using coordination bonds. Fe(OBu)(8)Pc complex molecules form a monolayer on an amino-functionalized TiO2 thin films when using THE as a solvent in the deposition step. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis results indicate that a monolayer of Fe(OBu)(8)Pc complexes lie parallel to the carrier surface replicating the nanostructure while having free coordination sites for sensing applications and leaving the glass substrate on the floors of the craters available for further functionalization. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.