We report here the synthesis of several tripod-shaped oligo(p-phenylene)s with legs composed of two phenylene units. Each leg is end-capped with a thioacetate group for adhesion to metallic surfaces. An azobenzene chromophore group is present on the functional arm of the tripod. The key step in the synthesis is the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki cross-couplingreaction of the silicon derivative core molecule