Samorì Paolo, Surin Mathieu, Palermo Vincenzo, Lazzaroni Roberto, Leclère Philippe
Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Gobetti, 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy.
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2006 Sep 14;8(34):3927-38. doi: 10.1039/b607502a. Epub 2006 Jul 17.
Scanning force microscopy (SFM) and related techniques make it possible to visualize polymer systems with a molecular resolution. Beyond imaging, they also enable the unveiling of a variety of (dynamic) physico-chemical properties of both isolated polymer chains and their supramolecular architectures, including structural, mechanical and electronic properties. This article reviews recent progress in the use of SFM on polymers, with a particular emphasis on the mechanical properties of copolymers and single polymer chains, as well as on the bottom-up fabrication of supramolecular polymeric (helical) nanostructures in particular based upon pi-conjugated macromolecules as building blocks for nanoelectronics. Through a detailed understanding of the polymer behavior, we propose solutions for the generation of organic functional (nano)systems.
