Structural and Nanotribological Properties of a BODIPY Self-Assembly

Shanchao Tan; Wendi Luo; Yongjie Zhang; Xiang-Kui Ren; Yuhong Liu; Zhijian Chen; Qingdao Zeng

doi:10.3389/fchem.2021.704915

Structural and Nanotribological Properties of a BODIPY Self-Assembly

Front Chem. 2021 Aug 6:9:704915. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.704915. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Shanchao Tan^{1

2}, Wendi Luo³, Yongjie Zhang⁴, Xiang-Kui Ren⁴, Yuhong Liu¹, Zhijian Chen⁴, Qingdao Zeng^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Beijing, China.
³ Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience, CAS Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Materials and Devices, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Key Laboratory of Ambient Particles Health Effects and Prevention Techniques, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
⁵ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectonics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Boron-dipyrromethenes (BODIPY) are promising functional dyes, whose exceptional optical properties are closely related to their supramolecular assembly. Herein, the self-assembly of a BODIPY derivative functionalized with uracil groups is explicitly and thoroughly investigated by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Based on the simulation and calculation by density functional theory (DFT) method, it can be concluded that the construction of ordered self-assembly structure is attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between uracil groups. Moreover, the nanotribological property of the self-assembly on HOPG surface is measured by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effort on self-assembly of the BODIPY derivative could enhance the understanding of surface assembly mechanism.

Keywords: bodipy dye; hydrogen bond; nanotribology; scanning tunneling microscopy; self-assembly.