On-Surface Synthesis of Ligands to Elaborate Coordination Polymers on an Au(111) Surface.

On-surface metal-organic polymers have emerged as a class of promising 2D materials. Here, we propose a new strategy to obtain coordination polymers by transforming supramolecular networks into coordination polymers by surface-assisted cyclo-dehydrogenation of organic building blocks. All nanostructures are fully characterized by using scanning tunneling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum on a gold surface.

Unravelling the growth mechanism of (3,1) graphene nanoribbons on a Cu(111) surface.

The growth of graphene nanoribbons has been widely investigated on metal surfaces in an ultrahigh vacuum. Here, we re-investigate the growth of graphene nanoribbons obtained by thermal annealing of 9,9'-bianthryl derivatives on a Cu(111) surface by using scanning tunnelling microscopy. On the basis of our results, we propose to complete the reaction mechanism commonly accepted in the literature by adding an intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer from the 2,2'-positions to the 10,10'-positions as a key-step in the formation of (3,1)-graphene nanoribbons on a Cu(111) surface.

Large-extended 2D supramolecular network of dipoles with parallel arrangement on a Si(111)-B surface.

We have investigated the self-assembly of a strong dipolar molecule (LDipCC) on the semiconducting Si(111)-B surface with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), density functional theory (DFT) calculations and STM simulations. Although the formation of an extended two-dimensional network was clearly revealed by STM under ultra-high vacuum, the assignment of a specific STM signature to the different terminal groups from the LDipCC molecular unit required a complete analysis by numerical simulations. The overall observed assembly is explained in terms of STM contrasts associated with the molecular structure of LDipCC and the molecule-surface interactions.

Subsurface HS Detection by a Surface Acoustic Wave Passive Wireless Sensor Interrogated with a Ground Penetrating Radar.

Long-term monitoring of organic pollutants in the soil is a major environmental challenge. We propose to meet this issue by the development of a polymer dedicated to selectively react with HS, coating surface acoustic wave transducers designed as passive cooperative targets with the compound, and probing their response using Ground Penetrating RADAR, thus providing the capability to monitor the presence of HS in the subsurface environment. The selectivity is brought by including lead(II) cation in a reticulated polymer matrix which can be deposited as a thin layer on a surface acoustic wave sensor.

Tuning the Kondo resonance in two-dimensional lattices of cerium molecular complexes.

Cerium intermetallics have raised a lot of interest for the past forty years thanks to their very unusual and interesting electronic and magnetic properties. This can be explained by the peculiar electronic configuration of Ce (4f1) that allows different oxidation states leading to singular behavior such as quantum phase transitions, heavy-fermion behavior and the Kondo effect. In this work, we used a mixed-valence molecular analogue to study the Kondo effect down to the atomic scale by means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) for which new many-body effects are expected to emerge due to reduced dimensionality and specific chemical environment of the 4f-ion.

Soluble Two-Dimensional Covalent Organometallic Polymers by (Arene)Ruthenium-Sulfur Chemistry.

A class of two-dimensional (2D) covalent organometallic polymers, with nanometer-scale crosslinking, was obtained by arene(ruthenium) sulfur chemistry. Their ambivalent nature, with positively charged crosslinks and lypophylic branches is the key to the often sought-for and usually hard-to-achieve solubility of 2D polymers in various kinds of solvents. Solubility is here controlled by the planarity of the polymer, which in turn controls Coulomb interactions between the polymer layers.

Towards 1D nanolines on a monolayered supramolecular network adsorbed on a silicon surface.

The growth of 3D extended periodic networks made up of π-conjugated molecules on semi-conductor surfaces is of interest for the integration of nano-components in the future generations of smart devices. In the work presented in this article, we successfully achieved the formation of bilayered networks on a silicon surface including 1D-isolated nanolines in the second layer. Firstly, we observed the formation of a 2D large-scale supramolecular network in the plane of a silicon surface through the deposition of tailored molecules.

Reduced and oxidized forms of the Pt-organometallic version of polyaniline.

This work represents an effort to synthesize all four forms of polyaniline (PANI) in its organometallic versions. Polymers containing substituted 1,4-benzoquinone diimine or 1,4-diaminobenzene units in the backbone exhibiting the general structure (C≡CC(6)H(4)-N═C(6)X(4)═N-C(6)H(4)C≡C-PtL(2))(n) and (C≡CC(6)H(4)NH-C(6)X(4)-NHC(6)H(4)C≡C-PtL(2))(n) along with the corresponding model compounds (C≡CC(6)H(4)-N═C(6)X(4)═N-C(6)H(4)C≡C)(PtL(2)Cl)(2) and (C≡CC(6)H(4)NH-C(6)X(4)-NHC(6)H(4)C≡C)(PtL(2)Cl)(2) (L = PBu(3); X = H, F, Cl) were synthesized. The polymers and corresponding model compounds were characterized (including (1)H and (31)P NMR, IR, mass spectra, elemental analysis, and X-ray structure determinations) and investigated for their redox properties in the absence and in the presence of acid.

Incorporation of zinc(II) porphyrins in polyaniline in its perigraniline form leading to polymers with the lowest band gap.

Conjugated copolymers built upon quinone diimine-zinc(II) porphyrin units exhibit a very low lying charge transfer band at 800 nm and are strongly emissive from the S(2) and T(2) states.