Dynamics and Structure Formation of Organic Molecules on Dielectric Surfaces

663. WE-Heraeus-Seminar

26 Feb - 28 Feb 2018

Where:

Physikzentrum Bad Honnef

Scientific organizers:

Prof. Angelika Kühnle, U Mainz • Prof. M. Sokolowski, U Bonn

In this seminar, we will address fundamental aspects of dynamics and structure formation of organic molecules on dielectric surfaces. Dynamics and structure formation of organic molecules on dielectric surfaces play an important role in many fundamental processes both in nature as well as industrial applications. For example, the interaction of organic molecules with inorganic materials is central in biomineralization as well as for understanding reactivity of solid-liquid interfaces in geochemistry. Within industry, applications range from surface functionalization to emerging field such as molecular electronics.

In all these areas, inert and electrically insulating surfaces are in the focus of interest. Many aspects of adsorption, diffusion and structure formation of organic molecules have been intensively studied on metal surfaces. Comparatively little is known about these processes on surfaces of dielectric materials. This is partly due to the fact that dielectric surfaces are difficult to investigate with classical surface science techniques that generally require electrically conducting materials. Only recently, both experimental and theoretical techniques have been developed to also tackle the challenging questions related to molecular dynamics and structure formation on dielectric surfaces. Moreover, the fundamentally different binding and diffusion of organic molecules on dielectric as compared to metal surfaces open up the possibility to explore new physical phenomena in molecular structure formation on dielectric surfaces.