Journal
ACS NANO
Volume 8, Issue 12, Pages 11987-11993Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/nn505325w
Keywords
azobenzene; single macromolecule; photoisomerization; graphene; molecular workbench; scanning force microscopy
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Funding
- German Research Foundation (DFG via IGRTG) [1524, SFB 658, BL 1269/1-1]
- European Research Council [ERC-2012-STG_308117]
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Synthetic rigid-rod polymers incorporating multiple azobenzene photoswitches in the backbone were deposited from solution onto a monolayer of octadecylamine covering the basal plane of graphite. Large contractions and extensions of the single macromolecules on the surface were induced by irradiation with UV and visible light, respectively, as visualized by scanning force microscopy. Upon contraction, the single polymer chains form more compact nanostructures and also may move across the surface, resembling a crawling movement. We attribute the efficiency of these processes to the low mechanical and electronic coupling between the surface and polymers, the high density of azobenzenes in their backbones, and their rigidity, allowing for maximized photodeformations. The visualization of on-surface motions of single macromolecules directly induced by light, as reported herein, could help promote the development of optomechanical nanosystems.
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