Nanoscale Materials Laboratory
Welcome to the Nanoscale Materials LabThe Nanoscale Materials Laboratory, jointly established on the basis of an official agreement by the Department of Physics of the University of Trieste and Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste, hosts researchers and students carrying out experimental activities in the fields of Surfaces, 2D Materials and Atomic Clusters Physics, in close collaboration with scientists from the Elettra Laboratory. Since 2000 more than 70 students have carried out experimental work at the Surface Science Laboratory in preparation of their Master's degree thesis in Physics, as well as in the framework of the PhD educational program of the Doctoral School of Physics and the Doctoral School of Nanotechnology of the University of Trieste. In addition the Laboratory hosts the Training Activity of the course Laboratorio di Fisica della Materia for the undergraduate students in Physics at the University of Trieste. The nmLab host ENAC (Exact Number of Atoms in each Cluster) the size-selected nanocluster source. |
Research Highlights | Publications
Unusual reversibility of molecular break-upPentacene molecules adsorbed on Ir(111) can undergo a reversible deydrogenation process that can be engineered to produce polyacenes, via on-surface synthesis. 
It's a matter of transparency to van der Waals forcesThe van der Waals interactions between light adsorbates with polar (Carbon Monoxide) and non-polar (Argon) character and a metal surface are partially screened by graphene which shows a translucency parameter equal to 0.507. 
Epitaxial graphene boosts photocatalysis in titania nanoparticlesThe choice of an interfacial layer of epitaxial graphene to support titania nanoparticles has been revealed as a key ingredient to dramatically increase their capability to split water and produce hydrogen. 
The role of carbon monomers and dimers in graphene growthWe show that the growth kinetics are controlled by a complex interplay between the diffusion of the carbon precursors on the growing graphene islands and their desorption. 
Molecular twisting, lifting and curlingCoronene molecules undergo major conformational changes during surface-assisted dissociation on Ir(111): they tilt upward, then they undergo a rotation and they settle to form a dome-shaped nanographene.
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Nanoscale Materials Lab News
