FOR 1878:  funCOS - Functional Molecular Structures on Complex Oxide Surfaces

• Subject Area: Chemistry ; Materials Science and Engineering ; Physics
• Term: from 2013 to 2023
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 214951840

Functional molecular films on oxide surfaces are at the heart of emerging technologies. Potential fields of application include molecular electronics, solar energy conversion, catalysis, sensor development, or biointerfacial engineering. In spite of this future potential, our understanding of molecule-oxide interfaces is still poor at the atomic level. Whereas the surface science approach has provided a wealth of knowledge on organic film growth on metals, organic-oxide interfaces had remained largely unexplored before the funCOS Research Unit started its work; a situation which we denote as the materials gap in organic thin film science.The funCOS Research Unit started in November 2013, aiming to fill this gap and to provide the fundamental knowledge basis to design tailor-made functional films on oxides. It is the funCOS vision to enable functional landscaping on oxide surfaces, that is, to create molecular films with full structural control at the nanoscale.Towards this aim, funCOS follows a knowledge-driven strategy, starting from a rigorous surface-science approach. The Research Unit comprises six joint projects, with a team of 15 leading research groups from experimental and theoretical surface and interface science contributing. The project aims to provide general design principles to tailor organic/oxide interfaces based on an atomic-level understanding. A library of prototype oxides and molecules is defined to ensure maximum scientific coherence among the participating groups. Exemplifying bonding and structure formation with these prototype systems, funCOS aims at exploring how organic molecules bind to atomically-defined surface sites, how selectivity can be achieved in this process, how to balance the energetics to control the film growth, and how to control the resulting physical and chemical properties. Having achieved a solid understanding of simple organic layers on simple oxides in the first funding period, funCOS has now laid the foundation to tackle more complex questions. In the second period, the Research Unit will address four key challenges: (i) funCOS will focus on the transfer of knowledge from simple model systems to complex organic films. (ii) A multi-method approach will be made to connect surface science under ideal conditions to realistic environments (ambient pressure and liquid phase). (iii) funCOS will explore strategies to tune molecule-surface and intermolecular interactions independently. (iv) Finally, the Research Unit will explore the mechanisms to form nanostructured organic films by selective anchoring of functional molecules to specific surface atoms and structures. These fundamental insights provided by funCOS will make available new concepts to design and synthesize complex molecule-oxide hybrid systems with well-controlled structure and tailored interfacial properties.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• International Connection: Argentina, Austria, China, USA

Projects

• Coordination Funds (Applicant Libuda, Jörg )
• Local Atomic and Electronic Structure (Applicants Maier, Sabine ;  Schneider, M. Alexander )
• Molecule-Oxide Bond Formation (Applicants Libuda, Jörg ;  Steinrück, Hans-Peter )
• Oxide Nanostructures (Applicants Diwald, Oliver ;  Schmuki, Patrik ;  Steinrück, Hans-Peter )
• Self-organisation and growth of organic molecules on oxide surfaces (Applicant Unruh, Tobias )
• Spectroscopy and Electronic Structure (Applicants Fauster, Thomas ;  Lytken, Ole ;  Steinrück, Hans-Peter )
• Theory (Applicants Görling, Andreas ;  Meyer, Bernd )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Jörg Libuda