title: Examples of Molecular Self-Assembly at Surfaces.
abstract: The self-assembly of molecules at surfaces can be caused by a range of physical mechanisms. Assembly can be driven by intermolecular forces, or molecule-surface forces, or both; it can result in structures that are in equilibrium or that are kinetically trapped. Here we review examples of self-assembly at surfaces focusing on a physical understanding of what causes patterns seen in experiment. Some apparently disparate systems can be described in similar physical terms, indicating that simple factors - such as the geometry and energy scale of intermolecular binding - are key to understanding the self-assembly of those systems.
authors: Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: Whitelam
keywords: self-assembly; statistical mechanics; surfaces