Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Low-dimensional materials, known as nanomaterials, are zero-, one-, and two-dimensional (0D/1D/2D) materials with reduced size/dimension and structural functionalities, which exhibit remarkable electronic, optoelectronic, and quantum properties. The proposed research focuses on the controlled design and on-surface synthesis of novel single-layer molecular-based, metal-organic, and inorganic 1D/2D nanomaterials with emergent properties. Through a bottom-up approach and in a well-controlled environment, novel low-dimensional 1D/2D nanomaterials are formed on surfaces with atomic scale precision. The properties of the formed nanomaterials are determined by their topography, dimension, size, careful choice of their monomer building blocks, and the chemical nature of the bonds which hold them together. By combining surface chemistry, nanoscale science, and atomic-scale physics, this research provides a novel approach for designing the next generation of graphene-like nanomaterials. Surface characterization and scanning probe microscopy techniques are used for chemical analysis and unveiling their properties at the nanoscale. These nanomaterials will be tailored to exhibit unique electronic properties, conductivity, charge mobility and/or electron spin transport, suitable for carbon-based nanoelectronics, spintronics, and quantum technology applications. Their engineered electronic and emergent quantum properties, together with thermal and chemical stability, make them ideal for nanoelectronics and spintronics, and with the potential to function as chemical qubits for quantum science and technology applications. Developing novel 1D/2D nanomaterials with unique electronic properties will have significant impacts in science and technology with the resulting economic and social benefits in Canada.