Invited Paper NS+AM+AS+MN+PC+PS+SS+TR-FrM1
Using Self-Assembly to Engineer Electronic Properties in 1D and 2D Molecular Nanostructures
Friday, October 26, 2018, 8:20 am, Room 102B
Control of chemical reactions at surfaces has created new opportunities for on-surface synthesis of low-dimensional molecular nanostructures. By designing precursor molecules it is possible to engineer new bottom-up structures with atomic precision and predetermined electronic properties. We have used this technique to confirm recent predictions that quasi-1D graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have well-defined electronic topology. This means that when “topologically non-trivial” GNRs are fused to “topologically trivial” GNRs then a singly-occupied, topologically-protected interface state occurs at the boundary between them. This has allowed us to engineer new GNRs with unique electronic structure. We have also engineered molecular precursors to control the behavior of 2D polymers. By tuning the coupling reaction between monomers it is possible to create 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) that exhibit novel electronic superlattice behavior.