Macroscopic hierarchical surface patterning of porphyrin trimers via self-assembly and dewetting.
The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is appealing, but to date is applicable to only relatively small areas (approximately 10 square micrometers). We constructed highly periodic patterns at macroscopic length scales, in the range of square millimeters, by combining self-assembly of disk-like porphyrin dyes with physical dewetting phenomena. The patterns consisted of equidistant 5-nanometer-wide lines spaced 0.5 to 1 micrometers apart, forming single porphyrin stacks containing millions of molecules, and were formed spontaneously upon drop-casting a solution of the molecules onto a mica surface. On glass, thicker lines are formed, which can be used to align liquid crystals in large domains of square millimeter size.
van Hameren
Richard
R
Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Schön
Peter
P
van Buul
Arend M
AM
Hoogboom
Johan
J
Lazarenko
Sergiy V
SV
Gerritsen
Jan W
JW
Engelkamp
Hans
H
Christianen
Peter C M
PC
Heus
Hans A
HA
Maan
Jan C
JC
Rasing
Theo
T
Speller
Sylvia
S
Rowan
Alan E
AE
Elemans
Johannes A A W
JA
Nolte
Roeland J M
RJ