A new utilization of organic molecules for nanofabrication using the molecular ruler method

Oligothiophenes and porphyrin oligomers were exploited as new molecules for the “molecular ruler” (MR) method in the form of simple molecular monolayers. When handled in air, oligothiophenes yielded extremely homogeneous nanogaps about 30 nm wide, while handling under N2 produced nanoscale gaps of around 10 nm between parent and daughter structures. The difference between these two results indicated that it was possible to control the width of this gap by varying the extent of oxidation of the oligothiophenes. Porphyrin oligomers also yielded nanogaps about 10 nm wide. Therefore, these two types of molecules are promising candidates for use in the MR methods.