Alterations in Conformations of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) on Au(111) Induced by Annealing
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866910163173113856 |
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| author | Arya, Anmol Vonau, François Joseph, Solomon L. Pfohl, Thomas Siegenführ, Silvia Simon, Laurent Reiter, Günter |
| author_facet | Arya, Anmol Vonau, François Joseph, Solomon L. Pfohl, Thomas Siegenführ, Silvia Simon, Laurent Reiter, Günter |
| contents | Employing high-vacuum electrospray deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated how individual poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) chains navigated on the periodic energy landscape of a reconstructed Au(111) surface. The resulting polymer conformations were governed by the interplay between the periodically corrugated substrate, in particular the depth and regularity of the modulated surface potential, and thermal energy. On a regularly reconstructed surface, annealing at °C provided sufficient energy for chain segments to overcome energy barriers of the corrugated surface potential landscape, allowing monomers along the chain to experience a strong thermodynamic driving force toward the low-energy valleys on the surface. The adsorbed polymers adopted a state where the polymer conformations were replicating the herringbone pattern. By contrast, on an irregularly reconstructed surface, the correspondingly disordered potential landscape yielded a diverse mix of coiled polymer chains performing a two-dimensional random walk and collapsed chains located in troughs of the energy landscape. Intriguingly, annealing at °C forced polymers to form clusters of many chains. Our results establish that thermal energy and substrate topography represent control parameters for altering polymer conformations, providing a mechanistic framework for rationally designing polymer nanostructures at the molecular level. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_22687 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Alterations in Conformations of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) on Au(111) Induced by Annealing Arya, Anmol Vonau, François Joseph, Solomon L. Pfohl, Thomas Siegenführ, Silvia Simon, Laurent Reiter, Günter Soft Condensed Matter Materials Science Employing high-vacuum electrospray deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated how individual poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) chains navigated on the periodic energy landscape of a reconstructed Au(111) surface. The resulting polymer conformations were governed by the interplay between the periodically corrugated substrate, in particular the depth and regularity of the modulated surface potential, and thermal energy. On a regularly reconstructed surface, annealing at °C provided sufficient energy for chain segments to overcome energy barriers of the corrugated surface potential landscape, allowing monomers along the chain to experience a strong thermodynamic driving force toward the low-energy valleys on the surface. The adsorbed polymers adopted a state where the polymer conformations were replicating the herringbone pattern. By contrast, on an irregularly reconstructed surface, the correspondingly disordered potential landscape yielded a diverse mix of coiled polymer chains performing a two-dimensional random walk and collapsed chains located in troughs of the energy landscape. Intriguingly, annealing at °C forced polymers to form clusters of many chains. Our results establish that thermal energy and substrate topography represent control parameters for altering polymer conformations, providing a mechanistic framework for rationally designing polymer nanostructures at the molecular level. |
| title | Alterations in Conformations of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) on Au(111) Induced by Annealing |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.22687 |