Maike V. Peters

TL;DR: It is shown that covalently bound molecular nanostructures can be formed on a gold surface upon thermal activation of porphyrin building blocks and their subsequent chemical reaction at predefined connection points, and it is demonstrated that the topology of these nanostructure can be precisely engineered by controlling the chemical structure of the building blocks.

TL;DR: Quantum chemical calculations of various azobenzene (AB) derivatives have been carried out with the goal to describe the energetics and kinetics of their thermal cis --> trans isomerization, giving usually reliable activation energies and enthalpies when compared to experimentally determined values.

TL;DR: In this article, the adsorption and switching behavior of 3,3′,5,5′-tetra-tert-butylazobenzene (meta-TBA) were investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy on three different metal substrates: Au(111), Cu(111, and Au(100).

TL;DR: The decoupling approach outlined herein provides the basis for constructing rigid rod architectures composed of multiple azobenzene photochromes, which display practically quantitative photoswitching properties, a necessary prerequisite to achieve highly efficient transduction of light energy directly into motion.