AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition
    Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session SS1-ThA

Paper SS1-ThA4
Extending Crystalline Organic Nanostructures at Surfaces into Multilayer Films

Thursday, October 31, 2013, 3:00 pm, Room 201 A

Session: Organic Layers on Surfaces
Presenter: S.L. Tait, Indiana University
Authors: S.L. Tait, Indiana University
D. Skomski, Indiana University
C. Tempas, Indiana University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Application of self-assembly strategies to complex, organic-based devices requires fabrication of many-layered architectures from multiple organic species. Recent advances in studies of organic adsorbates and supramolecular self-organization have provided examples of two-dimensional crystalline organic assemblies in the first molecular layer. Here, we demonstrate the extension of highly ordered organic layers into multiple layers away from a metal surface. High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to study structure and chemistry in these layers. Interfacial organic layers (IOLs) at the metal interface hold promise for the extension of supramolecular self-organization towards the multilayer regime, an area of surface assembly that had been insufficiently explored up to now. IOLs may enable the propagation of highly-ordered 2D supramolecular structure at the surface into the third dimension, thus enabling programmable, crystalline organic films. We illustrate that complex carboxyl and thiophene species can be self-assembled with atomic precision on top of a metal-templated IOL, even though the species are chemically unstable or do not form periodic structures when deposited directly onto the metal. In addition to yielding more complex architectures, the IOL decouples the organics from direct interactions with the metal surface, thereby protecting the species from metal-catalyzed degradation. We have also observed examples of crystalline film growth of up to 10 layers in thickness using STM and atomic force microscopy. These results provide new strategies to achieve long-range self-assembly of well-ordered complex molecular species incorporating technologically-relevant functional groups, which will be of interest in organic electronics and catalysis.