Bilayer molecular assembly at a solid/liquid interface as triggered by a mild electric field.
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 (10(9)  V m(-1) ) used to induce structural transitions in supramolecular assemblies, a mild electric field (10(5)  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.
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); University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China).
Qing-Na
QN
Zheng
Xuan-He
XH
Liu
Xing-Rui
XR
Liu
Ting
T
Chen
Hui-Juan
HJ
Yan
Yu-Wu
YW
Zhong
Dong
D
Wang
Li-Jun
LJ
Wan
bilayers; electric fields; kagome structure; scanning tunneling microscopy; self-assembly