Self-templating 2D supramolecular networks: a new avenue to reach control over a bilayer formation

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 3; no. 10; p. 4125
• Main Authors: Ciesielski, Artur, Cadeddu, Andrea, Palma, Carlos-Andres, Gorczyński, Adam, Patroniak, Violetta, Cecchini, Marco, Samorì, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-01-2011
• Subjects: Crystallization; Hydrogen Bonding; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Nanostructures - chemistry
• ISSN: 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c1nr10485c

One of the greatest challenges in 2D self-assembly at interfaces is the ability to grow spatially controlled supramolecular motifs in the third dimension, exploiting the surface as a template. In this manuscript a concentration-dependent study by scanning tunneling microscopy at the solid-liquid interface, corroborated by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, reveals the controlled generation of mono- or bilayer self-assembled Kagomé networks based on a fully planar tetracarboxylic acid derivative. By programming the backbone of the molecular building blocks, we present a strategy to gain spatial control over the adlayer structure by conferring self-templating capacity to the 2D self-assembled network.