Controlling Molecular Assembly in Two Dimensions: The Concentration Dependence of Thermally Induced 2D Aggregation of Molecules on a Metal Surface

✍ Scribed by Meike Stöhr; Markus Wahl; Christian H. Galka; Till Riehm; Thomas A. Jung; Lutz H. Gade

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 489 KB
• Volume: 117
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0044-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.200502316

✦ Synopsis

The "bottom-up" construction of functional structures relies on the sophisticated interplay between individual structural units. [1][2][3] In most cases, the assembly of these building blocks is based on noncovalent interactions that shape extended supramolecular entities in variable dimensions. [4][5][6] Herein, well-ordered molecular patterns on surfaces are created from highly mobile precursor molecules which are transformed subsequent to their deposition and form autocomplementary species in the process. The end groups of the mobile precursors are activated by a thermally induced surfaceassisted reaction to enable intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions which then lead to the formation of highly ordered structures. We demonstrate control over the 2D pattern of the assembly and over the dimensionality of the aggregate by variation of the surface concentration of the precursor prior to its transformation. Furthermore, we show that the combination of resonance-assisted hydrogen-bonding [7] and the interaction of the rectangular-shaped molecules with the metal surface leads to highly robust supramolecular networks which may serve as templates for the incorporation or trapping of guest molecules.