@article{li_owens_han_sumpter_lu_bernholc_meunier_maksymovych_fuentes-cabrera_pan_2013, title={Self-organized and cu-coordinated surface linear polymerization}, volume={3}, journal={Scientific Reports}, author={Li, Q. and Owens, J. R. and Han, C. B. and Sumpter, B. G. and Lu, W. C. and Bernholc, J. and Meunier, V. and Maksymovych, P. and Fuentes-Cabrera, M. and Pan, M. H.}, year={2013} }
 @article{li_han_fuentes-cabrera_terrones_sumpter_lu_bernholc_yi_gai_baddorf_et al._2012, title={Electronic Control over Attachment and Self-Assembly of Alkyne Groups on Gold}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1936-086X"]}, DOI={10.1021/nn303734r}, abstractNote={Self-assembled monolayers are the basis for molecular nanodevices, flexible surface functionalization, and dip-pen nanolithography. Yet self-assembled monolayers are typically created by a rather inefficient process involving thermally driven attachment reactions of precursor molecules to a metal surface, followed by a slow and defect-prone molecular reorganization. Here we demonstrate a nonthermal, electron-induced approach to the self-assembly of phenylacetylene molecules on gold that allows for a previously unachievable attachment of the molecules to the surface through the alkyne group. While thermal excitation can only desorb the parent molecule due to prohibitively high activation barriers for attachment reactions, localized injection of hot electrons or holes not only overcomes this barrier but also enables an unprecedented control over the size and shape of the self-assembly, defect structures, and the reverse process of molecular disassembly from a single molecule to a mesoscopic length scale. Electron-induced excitation may therefore enable new and highly controlled approaches to molecular self-assembly on a surface.}, number={10}, journal={ACS NANO}, author={Li, Qing and Han, Chengbo and Fuentes-Cabrera, Miguel and Terrones, Humberto and Sumpter, Bobby G. and Lu, Wenchang and Bernholc, Jerry and Yi, Jieyu and Gai, Zheng and Baddorf, Arthur P. and et al.}, year={2012}, month={Oct}, pages={9267–9275} }
 @article{li_han_horton_fuentes-cabrera_sumpter_lu_bernholc_maksymovych_pan_2012, title={Supramolecular Self-Assembly of pi-Conjugated Hydrocarbons via 2D Cooperative CH/pi Interaction}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1936-086X"]}, DOI={10.1021/nn203952e}, abstractNote={Supramolecular self-assembly on well-defined surfaces provides access to a multitude of nanoscale architectures, including clusters of distinct symmetry and size. The driving forces underlying supramolecular structures generally involve both graphoepitaxy and weak directional nonconvalent interactions. Here we show that functionalizing a benzene molecule with an ethyne group introduces attractive interactions in a 2D geometry, which would otherwise be dominated by intermolecular repulsion. Furthermore, the attractive interactions enable supramolecular self-assembly, wherein a subtle balance between very weak CH/π bonding and molecule-surface interactions produces a well-defined "magic" dimension and chirality of supramolecular clusters. The nature of the process is corroborated by extensive scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) measurements and ab initio calculations, which emphasize the cooperative, multicenter characters of the CH/π interaction. This work points out new possibilities for chemical functionalization of π-conjugated hydrocarbon molecules that may allow for the rational design of supramolecular clusters with a desired shape and size.}, number={1}, journal={ACS NANO}, author={Li, Qing and Han, Chengbo and Horton, Scott R. and Fuentes-Cabrera, Miguel and Sumpter, Bobby G. and Lu, Wenchang and Bernholc, Jerry and Maksymovych, Petro and Pan, Minghu}, year={2012}, month={Jan}, pages={566–572} }