title: Self-organization of nano-lines and dots triggered by a local mechanical stimulus.
abstract: When a local mechanical perturbation is applied to the surface of a thin film of a mechanically interlocked molecule (a rotaxane), the molecules self-organize into periodic arrays of discrete dots or lines. The dimensionality of the nanostructures depends on whether the mechanical stimulus acts along a 1D line or over a 2D area. The size (50-500 nm) and periodicity (100-600 nm) of the patterns are controlled solely by the film thickness. This self-organization at the mesoscopic scale occurs via a nucleation-ripening mechanism eased by the relatively low energy barriers of the intramolecular rearrangement introduced by the mechanical bond. The phenomenon can be exploited as a bottom-up nanofabrication method.
authors.affiliation: Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sezione di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy. f.biscarini@bo.ismn.cnr.it
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Biscarini
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.forename: Rajendra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kshirsagar
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bottari
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zerbetto