Use of Supramolecular Assemblies as Lithographic Resists.

A new resist material for electron beam lithography has been created that is based on a supramolecular assembly. Initial studies revealed that with this supramolecular approach, high-resolution structures can be written that show unprecedented selectivity when exposed to etching conditions involving plasmas.

Attoliter Chemistry for Nanoscale Functionalization of Graphene.

The nanoscale, multiplexed functionalization of graphene in a device array is a critical step to realize graphene-based chemical and biosensors. We demonstrate that graphene can be functionalized with submicron resolution and in well-defined locations and patterns using reaction agents in attoliter quantities, utilizing dip-pen nanolithography or microchannel cantilever spotting. Specifically, we functionalize graphene with a biotin azide using click-chemistry and demonstrate the subsequent binding of fluorescently tagged streptavidin.

Controlled Synthesis of Nanoscopic Metal Cages.

Here we show an elegant and general route to the assembly of a giant {M12C24} cage from 12 palladium ions (M) and 24 heterometallic octanuclear coordination cages (C = {Cr7Ni-Py2}). The molecule is 8 nm in size, and the methods for its synthesis and characterization provide a basis for future developments at this scale.

Electrochemical properties of CVD grown pristine graphene: monolayer- vs. quasi-graphene.

We report the electrochemical properties of pristine monolayer, double layer and few-layer (termed quasi-) graphene grown via CVD and transferred using PMMA onto an insulating substrate (silicon dioxide wafers). Characterisation has been performed by Raman spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, revealing 'true' pristine single-layer graphene (O/C of 0.05) at the former and pristine quasi-graphene at the latter (O/C of 0.