Self-assembled aggregates formed by single-molecule magnets on a gold surface

Abstract

The spontaneous ordering of molecules into two-dimensional self-assembled arrays is commonly stabilized by directional intermolecular interactions that may be promoted by the addition of specific chemical side groups to a molecule. In this paper, we show that self-assembly may also be driven by anisotropic interactions that arise from the three-dimensional shape of a complex molecule. We study the molecule mn 12 o 12 (o 2 CCH 3 ) 16 (H 2 o) 4 (mn 12 (acetate) 16 ), which is transferred from solution onto a Au(111) substrate held in ultrahigh vacuum using electrospray deposition (uHV-EsD). The deposited mn 12 (acetate) 16 molecules form filamentary aggregates because of the anisotropic nature of the molecule-molecule and molecule-substrate interactions, as confirmed by molecular dynamics calculations. The fragile mn 12 o 12 core of the mn 12 (acetate) 16 molecule is compatible with the uHV-EsD process, which we demonstrate using near-edge X-ray adsorption fine-structure spectroscopy. uHV-EsD of mn 12 (acetate) 16 onto a surface that has been prepatterned with a hydrogen-bonded supramolecular network provides additional control of lateral organization.

On‐Surface Synthesis of Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons

“…[ 13,15,[17][18][19] The size of the precursor molecule is ultimately limited by the requirement that the entire molecule must evaporate upon heating, not decompose in the crucible. Alternatives to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), such as electrospray deposition [ 20 ] or laser-induced desorption, [ 21 ] offer ways to overcome this limitation, as does the concept of hierarchical growth. [ 22 ] These routes are yet to be explored in the context of the on-surface synthesis of GNRs.…”

Bicomponent Supramolecular Architectures at the Vacuum–Solid Interface

“…32,33,34 Current developments of adapted electrospray and soft-landing techniques now permit the transfer of essentially any molecule or salt from solution to UHV. 35,36,37,38,39 d) The spatial resolution of UHV-STM (and now NC-AFM) is much higher than in solution, allowing precise characterization of sub-atomic details and conformations and precise measurements of interatomic distances. STM manipulation of single atoms and molecules is now a routine and precise technique that allows perturbation of the observed system to evaluate its stability and to displace molecules.…”

Encapsulation of single-molecule magnets in carbon nanotubes

“…Carbon nanotubes (NT) offer an excellent solution to connecting SMM to the outside world, without attendant problems of deterioration of the SMM functionality. The state of the SMM in such a hybrid NT-SMM material can be controlled electrically, because NT are excellent electrical conductors 14 . Such electrical control is essential for local addressability for data storage, spintronics or quantum information processing applications 15,16 .…”

“…However, any practical application of SMM requires their interaction with the macroscopic world, to allow read-and-write processes. A possible approach to this end is deposition of SMM on conductive surfaces, which, however, often leads to SMM decomposition 13,14 . Carbon nanotubes (NT) offer an excellent solution to connecting SMM to the outside world, without attendant problems of deterioration of the SMM functionality.…”