Amine‐Directed Hydrogen‐Bonded Two‐Dimensional Supramolecular Structures |
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| Authors: | Sepideh Afsari Dr. Zhihai Li Prof. Eric Borguet |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;2. Department of Chemistry, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA |
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| Abstract: | Utilizing pure amine hydrogen bonding is a novel approach for constructing two‐dimensional (2D) networks. Further, such systems are capable of undergoing structural modifications due to changes in pH. In this study, we designed a 2D network of triaminobenzene (TAB) molecules that by varying the pH from neutral to acidic, form either ordered or disordered structures on Au(111) surface as revealed in scanning tunneling microscopy images. In near‐neutral solution (pH ≈5.5), protonation of TAB generates charged species capable of forming H‐bonds between amine groups of neighboring molecules resulting in the formation of a 2D supramolecular structure on the electrified surface. At lower pH, due to the protonation of the amine groups, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is no longer possible and no ordered structure is observed on the surface. This opens the possibility to employ pH as a chemical trigger to induce a phase transition in the 2D molecular network of triaminobenzene molecules. |
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| Keywords: | amines hydrogen bonding pH supramolecular chemistry two-dimensional structures |
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