title: Nanoconfined self-assembly on a grafted graphitic surface under electrochemical control.
abstract: Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) can be covalently grafted with aryl radicals generated via the electrochemical reduction of 3,5-bis-tert-butyl-diazonium cations (3,5-TBD). The structure of the grafted layer and its stability under electrochemical conditions were assessed with electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Stable within a wide (>2.5 V) electrochemical window, the grafted species can be locally removed using EC-STM-tip nanolithography. Using dibenzyl viologen as an example, we show that the generated nanocorrals of bare graphitic surface can be used to study nucleation and growth of self-assembled structures under conditions of nanoconfinement and electrochemical potential control.
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Department of Chemistry, Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium. steven.defeyter@kuleuven.be huynhthimientrung@qnu.edu.vn stmerten@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thi Mien Trung
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.forename: Thanh Hai
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: Oleksandr
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ivasenko
authors.forename: Stijn F L
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Feyter