Surface assembly

Molecular rectifiers are an essential component for the construction of molecular electronic devices, which are becoming potentially competitive with existing silicon-based devices. This Review provides an overview of molecular rectification and discusses the outlook for the field as well as prospects for commercialization.

On-surface synthesis is a useful tool to produce extended macrocyclic structures with atomic precision, with only one type of macrocycle typically formed through on-surface coupling reactions. Here, distinct domains of four-, six- and eight-membered tetraphenylethylene-based macrocycles are synthesized on Ag(111) as segregated large-area mono-component crystals.

Unravelling the mechanism of chirality transfer in supramolecular assemblies is important to understand the relationship between molecular chirality and supramolecular chirality. Here, the authors use nonlinear spectroscopy and molecular dynamic simulations to study the long-range chirality transfer in a self-assembled supramolecular system.

Incorporating silicon into organic molecules and materials leads to interesting changes in electronic structure and properties; silabenzenes are attractive species for this purpose, but their high reactivity in solution poses challenges. Now, 1D and 2D covalent organic frameworks featuring disilabenzene rings (C₄Si₂) as linkers have been prepared by reacting silicon atoms and polyaromatic hydrocarbon precursors on a Au(111) surface.

Regulation of ice growth and ice growth inhibition are critical and different materials mimicking anti freeze proteins or ice binding surfaces have been developed. Here, the authors combine both concepts in a hyperbranched polyglycerols to change the ice growth activity.