Thin film growth of aromatic rod like molecules on graphene.
Research on graphene (Gr) is a vastly expanding field due to its potential for technological applications. Its close structural and chemical relationship to conjugated organic molecules makes it a superior candidate as a transparent electrode material in organic electronics and optoelectronics. The growth of organic thin films intensively investigated in the past few decades has demonstrated the complexity in growth and nucleation processes arising from the anisotropy and spatial extension of the molecular building blocks. Choosing the small, conjugated rod like molecules para hexaphenyl and pentacene as model representatives for small organic molecules, we review recent findings in organic thin film growth on a variety of Gr substrates. Special attention is paid to the differences in the resulting growth arising from the various methods of Gr fabrication and support that affect both the Gr molecule interfacing and the involved molecular diffusion processes.
Nanotechnology