Molecular assemblies on surfaces: towards physical and electronic decoupling of organic molecules

[摘要] Over the past two decades, organic molecules adsorbed onatomically defined metal surfaces have been intensively studiedto obtain an in-depth understanding of their self-assemblybehavior, on-surface reactivity, as well as their structuraland electronic properties [1-6]. An important aspect to unraveltheir potential use in electronic and optoelectronic devicesis how their functionality can be preserved when adsorbedon surfaces. Unfortunately, the (strong) interaction of themolecules with the metallic surface, for example, due tohybridization of molecular states with electronic bands fromthe metallic substrate, often alters the electronic propertiesof the molecules and, moreover, can even turn off theirsought-after functionality. As a result of the (strong) interaction,the molecular scaffolds can also become distorted, electronicstates may be significantly broadened and shifted, and vibronicstates may even be quenched. Decoupling strategies offerunique opportunities to reduce these (strong) interactions.In the following, recent progress to decouple both singlemolecules and molecular assemblies physically andelectronically from a (strongly) interacting support is brieflyreviewed.

[学科分类] 环境监测和分析

[关键词] decoupling layer;molecular self-assembly;scanning probemicroscopy;surface science