Matthew S. Dyer

Tailoring Bicomponent Supramolecular Nanoporous Networks : Phase Segregation, Polymorphism, and Glasses at the Solid−Liquid Interface

We study the formation of four supramolecular bicomponent networks based on four linear modules (linkers) bridging melamine via triple hydrogen-bonds. We explore at the nanoscale level the phenomena of polymorphism and phase segregation which rule the generation of highly crystalline nanoporous patterns self-assembled at the solid-liquid interface. The investigated linkers include two systems exposing diuracil groups in the alpha and omega position, naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimide and pyromellitic diimide. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) investigations revealed that, when blended with melamine, out of the four systems, three are able to form two-dimensional (2D) porous architectures, two of which exhibit highly ordered hexagonal structures, while pyromellitic diimide assembles only into one-dimensional (1D) supramolecular arrays. These bicomponent self-assembled monolayers are used as a test bed to gain detailed insight into phase segregation and polymorphism in 2D supramolecular systems by exploring the contribution of hydrogen-bond energy and periodicity, molecular flexibility, concentration and ratio of the components in solution as well as the effect of annealing via time-dependent and temperature-modulated experiments. These comparative studies, obtained through a joint experimental and computational analysis, offer new insights into strategies toward the bottom-up fabrication of highly ordered tunable nanopatterning at interfaces mediated by hydrogen bonds.

Tilt engineering of spontaneous polarization and magnetization above 300 K in a bulk layered perovskite

Tilting toward two properties Opposing electronic and symmetry constraints can make it difficult to combine some pairs of material properties in a single crystalline material. Magnetization and electrical polarization are such a pair, but their combination could be useful for applications such as magnetoelectric information storage. Pitcher et al. now show that careful design of chemical substitutions in a layered perovskite are both electrically polar and weakly ferromagnetic at temperatures up to 330 K. Science, this issue p. 420 Chemical substitutions produce atomic displacements in a crystal that lead to both electrical polarization and magnetization. Crystalline materials that combine electrical polarization and magnetization could be advantageous in applications such as information storage, but these properties are usually considered to have incompatible chemical bonding and electronic requirements. Recent theoretical work on perovskite materials suggested a route for combining both properties. We used crystal chemistry to engineer specific atomic displacements in a layered perovskite, (CaySr1–y)1.15Tb1.85Fe2O7, that change its symmetry and simultaneously generate electrical polarization and magnetization above room temperature. The two resulting properties are magnetoelectrically coupled as they arise from the same displacements.

Aggregation and Contingent Metal/Surface Reactivity of 1,3,8,10-Tetraazaperopyrene (TAPP) on Cu(111)

The structural chemistry and reactivity of 1,3,8,10-tetraazaperopyrene (TAPP) on Cu(111) under ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) conditions has been studied by a combination of experimental techniques (scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS) and DFT calculations. Depending on the deposition conditions, TAPP forms three main assemblies, which result from initial submonolayer coverages based on different intermolecular interactions: a close-packed assembly similar to a projection of the bulk structure of TAPP, in which the molecules interact mainly through van der Waals (vDW) forces and weak hydrogen bonds; a porous copper surface coordination network; and covalently linked molecular chains. The Cu substrate is of crucial importance in determining the structures of the aggregates and available reaction channels on the surface, both in the formation of the porous network for which it provides the Cu atoms for surface metal coordination and in the covalent coupling of the TAPP molecules at elevated temperature. Apart from their role in the kinetics of surface transformations, the available metal adatoms may also profoundly influence the thermodynamics of transformations by coordination to the reaction product, as shown in this work for the case of the Cu-decorated covalent poly(TAPP-Cu) chains.

Visible Light Photo-oxidation of Model Pollutants Using CaCu3Ti4O12: An Experimental and Theoretical Study of Optical Properties, Electronic Structure, and Selectivity

Charge transfer between metal ions occupying distinct crystallographic sublattices in an ordered material is a strategy to confer visible light absorption on complex oxides to generate potentially catalytically active electron and hole charge carriers. CaCu3Ti4O12 has distinct octahedral Ti4+ and square planar Cu2+ sites and is thus a candidate material for this approach. The sol−gel synthesis of high surface area CaCu3Ti4O12 and investigation of its optical absorption and photocatalytic reactivity with model pollutants are reported. Two gaps of 2.21 and 1.39 eV are observed in the visible region. These absorptions are explained by LSDA+U electronic structure calculations, including electron correlation on the Cu sites, as arising from transitions from a Cu-hybridized O 2p-derived valence band to localized empty states on Cu (attributed to the isolation of CuO4 units within the structure of CaCu3Ti4O12) and to a Ti-based conduction band. The resulting charge carriers produce selective visible light photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol (monitored by mass spectrometry) by Pt-loaded CaCu3Ti4O12 which is attributed to the chemical nature of the photogenerated charge carriers and has a quantum yield comparable with commercial visible light photocatalysts.

STM fingerprint of molecule-adatom interactions in a self-assembled metal-organic surface coordination network on Cu(111)

A novel approach of identifying metal atoms within a metal-organic surface coordination network using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) is presented. The Cu adatoms coordinated in the porous surface network of 1,3,8,10-tetraazaperopyrene (TAPP) molecules on a Cu(111) surface give rise to a characteristic electronic resonance in STM experiments. Using density functional theory calculations, we provide strong evidence that this resonance is a fingerprint of the interaction between the molecules and the Cu adatoms. We also show that the bonding of the Cu adatoms to the organic exodentate ligands is characterised by both the mixing of the nitrogen lone-pair orbitals of TAPP with states on the Cu adatoms and the partial filling of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the TAPP molecule. Furthermore, the key interactions determining the surface unit cell of the network are discussed.

Probing Conformers and Adsorption Footprints at the Single-Molecule Level in a Highly Organized Amino Acid Assembly of (S)-Proline on Cu(110)

Establishing the nanoscale details of organized amino acid assemblies at surfaces is a major challenge in the field of organic-inorganic interfaces. Here, we show that the dense (4 x 2) overlayer of the amino acid, (S)-proline on a Cu(110) surface can be explored at the single-molecule level by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), and periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The combination of experiment and theory, allied with the unique structural rigidity of proline, enables the individual conformers and adsorption footprints adopted within the organized assembly to be determined. Periodic DFT calculations find two energetically favorable molecular conformations, projecting mirror-image chiral adsorption footprints at the surface. These two forms can be experimentally distinguished since the positioning of the amino group within the pyrrolidine ring leads each chiral footprint and associated conformer to adopt very different ring orientations, producing distinct contrasts in the STM images. DFT modeling shows that the two conformers can generate eight possible (4 x 2) overlayers with a variety of adsorption footprint arrangements. STM images simulated for each structural model enables a direct comparison to be made with the experiment and narrows the (4 x 2) overlayer to one specific structural model in which the juxtaposition of molecules leads to the formation of one-dimensional hydrogen bonded prolate chains directed along the [110] direction.

Understanding the Interaction of the Porphyrin Macrocycle to Reactive Metal Substrates: Structure, Bonding, and Adatom Capture

We investigate the adsorption and conformation of free-base porphines on Cu(110) using STM, reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, and periodic DFT calculations in order to understand how the central polypyrrole macrocycle, common to all porphyrins, interacts with a reactive metal surface. We find that the macrocycle forms a chemisorption bond with the surface, arising from electron donation into down-shifted and nearly degenerate unoccupied porphine π-orbitals accompanied with electron back-donation from molecular π-orbitals. Our calculations show that van der Waals interactions give rise to an overall increase in the adsorption energy but only minor changes in the adsorption geometry and electronic structure. In addition, we observe copper adatoms being weakly attracted to adsorbed porphines at specific molecular sites. These results provide important insights into porphyrin-surface interactions that, ultimately, will govern the design of robust surface-mounted molecular devices based on this important class of molecules.

Unexpected deformations induced by surface interaction and chiral self-assembly of Co(II)-tetraphenylporphyrin (Co-TPP) adsorbed on Cu(110): a combined STM and periodic DFT study.

In a combined scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and periodic density functional theory (DFT) study, we present the first comprehensive picture of the energy costs and gains that drive the adsorption and chiral self-assembly of highly distorted Co(II)-tetraphenylporphyrin (Co-TPP) conformers on the Cu(110) surface. Periodic, semi-local DFT calculations reveal a strong energetic preference for Co-TPP molecules to adsorb at the short-bridge site when organised within a domain. At this adsorption site, a substantial chemical interaction between the molecular core and the surface causes the porphyrin macrocycle to accommodate close to the surface and in a flat geometry, which induces considerable tilting distortions in the phenyl groups. Experimental STM images can be explained in terms of these conformational changes and adsorption-induced electronic effects. For the ordered structure we unambiguously show that the substantial energy gain from the molecule–surface interaction recuperates the high cost of the induced molecular and surface deformations as compared with gas phase molecules. Conversely, singly adsorbed molecules prefer a long-bridge adsorption site and adopt a non-planar, saddle-shape conformation. By using a van der Waals density functional correction scheme, we found that the intermolecular π–π interactions make the distorted conformer more stable than the saddle conformer within the organic assembly. These interactions drive supramolecular assembly and also generate chiral expression in the system, pinning individual molecules in a propeller-like conformation and directing their assembly along non-symmetric directions that lead to the coexistence of mirror-image chiral domains. Our observations reveal that a strong macrocycle–surface interaction can trigger and stabilise highly unexpected deformations of the molecular structure and thus substantially extend the range of chemistries possible within these systems.

Computationally Assisted Identification of Functional Inorganic Materials

Modules of Desire Using computational methods to design materials with specific properties has found some limited success. Dyer et al. (p. 847, published online 11 April) have devised a method, based on extended module materials assembly, that combines chemical intuition and ab initio calculations starting from fragments or modules of structure types that show the desired functionality. The method was tested by identifying materials suitable for a solid oxide fuel cell cathode. A method using extended building blocks is developed for computationally viable predictions of stable crystal structures. The design of complex inorganic materials is a challenge because of the diversity of their potential structures. We present a method for the computational identification of materials containing multiple atom types in multiple geometries by ranking candidate structures assembled from extended modules containing chemically realistic atomic environments. Many existing functional materials can be described in this way, and their properties are often determined by the chemistry and electronic structure of their constituent modules. To demonstrate the approach, we isolated the oxide Y2.24Ba2.28Ca3.48Fe7.44Cu0.56O21, with a largest unit cell dimension of over 60 angstroms and 148 atoms in the unit cell, by using a combination of this method and experimental work and show that it has the properties necessary to function as a solid oxide fuel-cell cathode.

Interface control by chemical and dimensional matching in an oxide heterostructure

Interfaces between different materials underpin both new scientific phenomena, such as the emergent behaviour at oxide interfaces, and key technologies, such as that of the transistor. Control of the interfaces between materials with the same crystal structures but different chemical compositions is possible in many materials classes, but less progress has been made for oxide materials with different crystal structures. We show that dynamical self-organization during growth can create a coherent interface between the perovskite and fluorite oxide structures, which are based on different structural motifs, if an appropriate choice of cations is made to enable this restructuring. The integration of calculation with experimental observation reveals that the interface differs from both the bulk components and identifies the chemical bonding requirements to connect distinct oxide structures.