Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mechanical properties of organic molecular semiconductors are determined by a combination of chemical structure and solid-state packing. Measurements of nanoscale mechanical properties on molecular surfaces via atomic force microscopy (AFM) are particularly challenging as the very act of probing how stiff these surfaces are may perturb them, making it difficult to discern subtle differences in stiffness arising from changes in molecular composition. This work presents the first direct, experimental demonstration of the tunability in the nanomechanical properties for a family of molecular semiconductors resulting from systematic alkyl sidechain substitution. While such tunability is intuitively expected, it is a subtle effect that is extremely difficult to detect and quantify reliably from nanoscale AFM measurements due to various spurious force contributions operating on such small length scales. Only after identifying and removing these spurious contributions is the underlying molecular-scale tailoring of mechanical properties observable. Confidence in the measured stiffness trend is reinforced through simulations based on density-functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD).
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Ki-Hwan Hwang, Dorothée Brandt, Silvia Cristofaro, Cameron J. Nickerson, Federico Modesti, Mindaugas Gicevičius, Mateo T. R. Cervantes, Martina Volpi, Leszek J. Spalek, Luca Muccioli, Per M. Claesson, Ljiljana Fruk, Yves Geerts, Guillaume Schweicher, Yoann Olivier, Erin R. Johnson, Deepak Venkateshvaran
Institutions: University of Cambridge, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University of Namur, Namur Institute of Structured Matter, Dalhousie University, BASF (Germany), Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Bologna, International Solvay Institutes, Government of the United Kingdom, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Awards: G1493589418, G1628912345, G1686931841, G2208766126, G352405652, G434337789, G4454616527, G4460806880, G515424080, European Network for the Study of Orphan Nephropathies, Surface Engineering and Pigment Tailoring for Sustainable Dyeing of Cellulosic Materials, Ultra-high Charge Carrier Mobility to Elucidate Transport Mechanisms in Molecular Semiconductors, G6295219994, G6401074224, G6737841604, G6776265572, G6905995308, G7734493079, G8656577654
OpenAlex ID: W7123478537