• 文献标题:   Self-Assembly of Bowlic Supramolecules on Graphene Imaged at the Individual Molecular Level using Heavy Atom Tagging
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   KENGMANA ES, LEE JK, LI X, WARNER JH, HAN GGD
  • 作者关键词:   annular darkfield scanning transmission electron microscopy, calix4arene, heavy atom marker, selfassembly, supramolecule
  • 出版物名称:   SMALL
  • ISSN:   1613-6810 EI 1613-6829
  • 通讯作者地址:   Brandeis Univ
  • 被引频次:   0
  • DOI:   10.1002/smll.202002860 EA SEP 2020
  • 出版年:   2020

▎ 摘  要

The self-assembly of bowlic supramolecules on graphene surface is studied with single molecular sensitivity. This is achieved by incorporating a heavy metal tag in the form of a single W atom into the tip of the molecular structure, which enables the direct imaging of molecular distribution using annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) along with graphene as an electron transparent support. The bowlic molecules have nonplanar geometry, and their orientations with respect to their graphene substrate and with each other result in various packing configurations. Statistical data on intermolecular distances is obtained from numerous measurements of the bright contrast from the single metal atom tags. The analysis shows that the bowlic molecules lie sideways on the graphene surface with favorable head-to-tail stacking, rather than sitting vertically with the bowl facing toward the graphene surface. In thicker film regions, nanoscale lamellar fringes are observed, demonstrating that large-scale aligned packing extends into 3D. Image simulations and various molecular packing schemes are discussed to help interpret the ADF-STEM images and the possible range of molecular interactions occurring. These results aid the understanding of nonplanar supramolecular assemblies on van der Waals surfaces for potential applications in molecular recognition by porous films.