Controlling Porphyrin Nanoarchitectures at Solid Interfaces

Two complementary examples of porphyrin nanoarchitectonics are presented. The fabrication of binary molecular monolayers using two different porphyrin molecules, tetrakis(3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (1) and tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (2), by deposition in ultrahigh vacuum was demonstrated. Two unusual heteromolecular monolayer structures were observed, with one exhibiting good separation of 1 molecules within the monolayer. Also, a synthetic nanoarchitectonic approach was used to prepare self-assembled molecular nanowires at a mica substrate. The nanowires could be observed to grow using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the network structures of the nanowires could be influenced by manipulation using the AFM probe tip.