title: Functional polymers: scanning force microscopy insights.
abstract: Scanning force microscopy (SFM) and related techniques make it possible to visualize polymer systems with a molecular resolution. Beyond imaging, they also enable the unveiling of a variety of (dynamic) physico-chemical properties of both isolated polymer chains and their supramolecular architectures, including structural, mechanical and electronic properties. This article reviews recent progress in the use of SFM on polymers, with a particular emphasis on the mechanical properties of copolymers and single polymer chains, as well as on the bottom-up fabrication of supramolecular polymeric (helical) nanostructures in particular based upon pi-conjugated macromolecules as building blocks for nanoelectronics. Through a detailed understanding of the polymer behavior, we propose solutions for the generation of organic functional (nano)systems.
authors.affiliation: Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Gobetti, 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy. samori@isof.cnr.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Samorì
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Surin
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palermo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lazzaroni
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leclère