Furukawa Group Seminar – Visualizing structure and self-assembly

On April 17, iCeMS Furukawa Group hosted Prof Tomoko K Shimizu for a seminar. She leads a group in the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, which focuses on the surface characterization of materials using scanning probe microscopy at the single atomic and molecular scales. She emphasized the innovation of both instruments and methods to obtain cutting-edge results.

Shimizu's lecture was titled, “Nanoscale structures and self-assembling mechanism of organic porous thin film revealed by scanning probe microscopy and molecular dynamics simulation”. She presented her research exploring a honeycomb structured hydrogen-bonded organic network (HOF) formed at an air-liquid interface. The team was able to obtain films of various thicknesses by adjusting the ratio of solvents used. The resultant films were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to confirm the periodically aligned nanopore structure. Molecular dynamic simulation suggested that structural fluctuation and the resulting local changes are keys to the self-assembling film growth. Shimizu hoped to better understand the adsorption of single molecules onto the film surface through further research.