Bilayer Molecular Assembly at a Solid/Liquid Interface as Triggered by a Mild Electric Field |
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Authors: | Qing‐Na Zheng Xuan‐He Liu Xing‐Rui Liu Ting Chen Hui‐Juan Yan Yu‐Wu Zhong Prof?Dr Dong Wang Prof?Dr Li‐Jun Wan |
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Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Beijing 100190 (P.R. China);2. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China);3. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Photochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (P.R. China) |
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Abstract: | The construction of a spatially defined assembly of molecular building blocks, especially in the vertical direction, presents a great challenge for surface molecular engineering. Herein, we demonstrate that an electric field applied between an STM tip and a substrate triggered the formation of a bilayer structure at the solid–liquid interface. In contrast to the typical high electric‐field strength (109 V m?1) used to induce structural transitions in supramolecular assemblies, a mild electric field (105 V m?1) triggered the formation of a bilayer structure of a polar molecule on top of a nanoporous network of trimesic acid on graphite. The bilayer structure was transformed into a monolayer kagome structure by changing the polarity of the electric field. This tailored formation and large‐scale phase transformation of a molecular assembly in the perpendicular dimension by a mild electric field opens perspectives for the manipulation of surface molecular nanoarchitectures. |
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Keywords: | bilayers electric fields kagome structure scanning tunneling microscopy self‐assembly |
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