The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is... more The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is appealing, but to date is applicable to only relatively small areas (∼10 square micrometers). We constructed highly periodic patterns at macroscopic length scales, in the range of square millimeters, by combining self-assembly of disk-like porphyrin dyes with physical dewetting phenomena. The patterns consisted of equidistant 5-nanometer-wide lines spaced 0.5 to 1 micrometers apart, forming single porphyrin stacks containing millions of molecules, and were formed spontaneously upon drop-casting a solution of the molecules onto a mica surface. On glass, thicker lines are formed, which can be used to align liquid crystals in large domains of square millimeter size.
The research described in the thesis entitled “Functional materials of self-assembled compounds” ... more The research described in the thesis entitled “Functional materials of self-assembled compounds” has been carried out at the interface of physics and chemistry, with the aim to explore new scientific opportunities and develop new applications. The research mainly focuses on porphyrins, chromophoric compounds which are highly similar to the red colorants (hemoglobin) in our blood. By cleverly linking three of those porphyrins together, a trimer is formed. Under the right conditions these trimers spontaneously form highly defined line patterns composed of single molecule thick columnar stacks, by a combination of dewetting forces and molecular self-assembly. The patterns, which can grow up to sizes of several square millimeters, have been successfully applied as alignment layers for liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal display (LCD). In another part of the research, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) has been used to study porphyrin-based catalysts while they are involved in ...
The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is... more The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is appealing, but to date is applicable to only relatively small areas (approximately 10 square micrometers). We constructed highly periodic patterns at macroscopic length scales, in the range of square millimeters, by combining self-assembly of disk-like porphyrin dyes with physical dewetting phenomena. The patterns consisted of equidistant 5-nanometer-wide lines spaced 0.5 to 1 micrometers apart, forming single porphyrin stacks containing millions of molecules, and were formed spontaneously upon drop-casting a solution of the molecules onto a mica surface. On glass, thicker lines are formed, which can be used to align liquid crystals in large domains of square millimeter size.
The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is... more The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is appealing, but to date is applicable to only relatively small areas (∼10 square micrometers). We constructed highly periodic patterns at macroscopic length scales, in the range of square millimeters, by combining self-assembly of disk-like porphyrin dyes with physical dewetting phenomena. The patterns consisted of equidistant 5-nanometer-wide lines spaced 0.5 to 1 micrometers apart, forming single porphyrin stacks containing millions of molecules, and were formed spontaneously upon drop-casting a solution of the molecules onto a mica surface. On glass, thicker lines are formed, which can be used to align liquid crystals in large domains of square millimeter size.
The research described in the thesis entitled “Functional materials of self-assembled compounds” ... more The research described in the thesis entitled “Functional materials of self-assembled compounds” has been carried out at the interface of physics and chemistry, with the aim to explore new scientific opportunities and develop new applications. The research mainly focuses on porphyrins, chromophoric compounds which are highly similar to the red colorants (hemoglobin) in our blood. By cleverly linking three of those porphyrins together, a trimer is formed. Under the right conditions these trimers spontaneously form highly defined line patterns composed of single molecule thick columnar stacks, by a combination of dewetting forces and molecular self-assembly. The patterns, which can grow up to sizes of several square millimeters, have been successfully applied as alignment layers for liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal display (LCD). In another part of the research, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) has been used to study porphyrin-based catalysts while they are involved in ...
The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is... more The use of bottom-up approaches to construct patterned surfaces for technological applications is appealing, but to date is applicable to only relatively small areas (approximately 10 square micrometers). We constructed highly periodic patterns at macroscopic length scales, in the range of square millimeters, by combining self-assembly of disk-like porphyrin dyes with physical dewetting phenomena. The patterns consisted of equidistant 5-nanometer-wide lines spaced 0.5 to 1 micrometers apart, forming single porphyrin stacks containing millions of molecules, and were formed spontaneously upon drop-casting a solution of the molecules onto a mica surface. On glass, thicker lines are formed, which can be used to align liquid crystals in large domains of square millimeter size.
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