Self-Assembled Two-Dimensional Nanoporous Crystals as Molecular Sieves: Molecular Dynamics Studies of 1,3,5-Tristyrilbenzene‑Cn Superstructures
Résumé
Due to their unique geometry complex, self-assembled nanoporous 2D molecular crystals offer a broad landscape of
potential applications, ranging from adsorption and catalysis to optoelectronics, substrate processes, and future nanomachine
applications. Here we report and discuss the results of extensive all-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) investigations of self-assembled
organic monolayers (SAOM) of interdigitated 1,3,5-tristyrilbenzene (TSB) molecules terminated by alkoxy peripheral chains Cn
containing n carbon atoms (TSB3,5-Cn) deposited onto highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). In vacuo structural and
electronic properties of the TSB3,5-Cn molecules were initially determined using ab initio second order Møller−Plesset (MP2)
calculations. The MD simulations were then used to analyze the behavior of the self-assembled superlattices, including relaxed lattice
geometry (in good agreement with experimental results) and stability at ambient temperatures. We show that the intermolecular
disordering of the TSB3,5-Cn monolayers arises from competition between decreased rigidity of the alkoxy chains (loss of
intramolecular order) and increased stabilization with increasing chain length (afforded by interdigitation). We show that the
inclusion of guest organic molecules (e.g., benzene, pyrene, coronene, hexabenzocoronene) into the nanopores (voids formed by
interdigitated alkoxy chains) of the TSB3,5-Cn superlattices stabilizes the superstructure, and we highlight the importance of alkoxy
chain mobility and available pore space in the dynamics of the systems and their potential application in selective adsorption.