title: Spatial control of chirality in supramolecular aggregates.
abstract: Chirality is one of the most intriguing properties of matter related to a molecule's lack of mirror symmetry. The transmission of chirality from the molecular level up to the macroscopic scale has major implications in life sciences but it is also relevant for many chemical applications ranging from catalysis to spintronic. These technological applications require an accurate control of morphology, homogeneity and chiral handedness of thin films and nanostructures. We demonstrate a simple approach to specifically transfer chirality to the model supramolecular system of J aggregates of the protonated form of tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)-porphyrin by utilizing a soft lithography technique. This approach successfully allows the fabrication of an ordered distribution of sub-micrometric structures in precise and controllable positions with programmed chirality, providing a fundamental breakthrough toward the exploitation of chiral supramolecular aggregates in technological applications, such as sensors, non-linear optics and spintronic.
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Castriciano
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gentili
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy.|Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, University of Messina, and C.I.R.C.M.S.B., V.le F. Stagno D'Alcontres 31, Vill. S. Agata, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy.|Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, University of Messina, and C.I.R.C.M.S.B., V.le F. Stagno D'Alcontres 31, Vill. S. Agata, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Monsù
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Scolaro