RESUMEN
A general strategy for simultaneously generating surface-based supramolecular architectures on flat sp(2) -hybridized carbon supports and independently exposing on demand off-plane functionality with controlled lateral order is highly desirable for the noncovalent functionalization of graphene. Here, we address this issue by providing a versatile molecular platform based on a library of new 3D Janus tectons that form surface-confined supramolecular adlayers in which it is possible to simultaneously steer the 2D self-assembly on flat C(sp(2))-based substrates and tailor the external interface above the substrate by exposure to a wide variety of small terminal chemical groups and functional moieties. This approach is validated throughout by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at the liquid-solid interface and molecular mechanics modeling studies. The successful self-assembly on graphene, together with the possibility to transfer the graphene monolayer onto various substrates, should considerably extend the application of our functionalization strategy.
RESUMEN
We compare by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) self-organized honeycomb monolayers of aromatic molecules formed either on graphite or on graphene. A differential contrast between the adsorption sites observed exclusively on graphite evidences the electronic effects of the symmetry breaking by the staggered atomic layers forming this substrate.