Reversible phase transitions in a buckybowl monolayer.
Like penguins on ice, buckybowl molecules move closer together when cooled on a copper surface (see model of a corannulene molecule adsorbed on Cu(111)). Upon heating, the molecules spread out into the original crystal phase again. The lower density at room temperature can be explained by the increase in entropy owing to the excitation of bowl vibrations at the surface.
Merz
Leo
L
Nanoscale Materials Science, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), Uberlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Parschau
Manfred
M
Zoppi
Laura
L
Baldridge
Kim K
KK
Siegel
Jay S
JS
Ernst
Karl-Heinz
KH