Ludwig Bartels

University of California, Riverside

"Two macroscopic concepts that govern molecules on metal surfaces"

Since D. Eigler showed that Xe-atoms can be rearranged on a surface to form letters, there has been the dream of assembling functional machinery consisting of individual atoms and molecules on surfaces. For this dream to come true, efficient methods for control of the dynamics and reactivity of molecules on surfaces are required. I will present two instances, in which concepts from macroscopic chemistry and biology can be transferred directly to experiments addressing individual molecules: the Hammett Equation (which describes the acidity of substituted benzoic acids and which is a widely-used tool in drug discovery, toxicology and related areas of chemistry) and the walking motion of a human being (which distinguishes itself from random motion of a species across a surface by the way the substrate linkers are moved in a guided and alternate fashion).

Thursday, November 10, 2005

4:10 p.m. -- Walter Lecture Hall 245