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 Karl Franzens University Graz

Graz University of Technology 

"Touching" single functional molecules: From switches to wires
Prof. Leonhard Grill
Physikalische Chemie, KFU Graz
17:15 - 18:15 Tuesday 18 November 2014 TUG P2

Functional molecules on surfaces and their assembly into pre-defined architectures are key challenges in nanotechnology and of interest in various fields from molecular electronics over novel materials to molecular machines. Various examples of functional molecules, studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions will be discussed. Specifically designed molecular building blocks are connected to two-dimensional networks or one-dimensional chains, which can act as molecular wires. Their properties are studied by pulling molecular chains from a surface, measuring either its conductance or the forces that are acting on a single polymer in such a geometry.
On the other hand, chemical processes within individual molecular can be controlled via their environment. This was observed for molecular switches, where the atomic-scale surroundings cause drastic changes in their switching probability. Recently, we could show that the rate of an intramolecular hydrogen transfer reaction can be tuned up and down by single atoms in the vicinity of the molecule. Single atoms were also found to modify the appearance of adsorbed molecules in STM images during their diffusion underneath the molecules.