Molecular recognition and self-assembly at the monolayer interface

ORGN 570

Mark L. Bushey, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, Havemeyer Hall MC-3154, New York, NY 10027 and Colin Nuckolls, Nanostructures Science and Engineering Center and Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, MC 3109, New York, NY 10027.
Stacked disk shaped aromatics that are surrounded by alkyl groups are the prototype of self-assembled, molecular scale wiring. Our efforts are in creating discotic liquid crystals that are held together by a combination of hydrogen bonds and ?-stacking. This paper describes the first studies on a new class of crowded aromatics covalently attached to a gold surface. Studies including the self-assembly on various surfaces, electro-optic switching on ITO coated glass plates, and the detection of molecules through fluorescence. The fluorescent studies indicate that the self-assembled monolayer can discriminate and recognize molecules that display a complimentary binding structure.