{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T10:24:23Z","timestamp":1790763863520,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,20]],"date-time":"2021-12-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639958400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In recent years, extending self-assembled structures from two-dimensions (2D) to three-dimensions (3D) has been a paradigm in surface supramolecular chemistry and contemporary nanotechnology. Using organic molecules of p-terphenyl-3,5,3\u2032,5\u2032-tetracarboxylic acid (TPTC), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we present a simple route, that is the control of the solute solubility in a sample solution, to achieve the vertical growth of supramolecular self-assemblies, which would otherwise form monolayers at the organic solvent\/graphite interface. Presumably, the bilayer formations were based on \u03c0-conjugated overlapped molecular dimers that worked as nuclei to induce the yielding of the second layer. We also tested other molecules, including trimesic acid (TMA) and 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)-benzene (BTB), as well as the further application of our methodology, demonstrating the facile preparation of layered assemblies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26247707","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,21]],"date-time":"2021-12-21T04:23:47Z","timestamp":1640060627000},"page":"7707","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Monolayer and Bilayer Formation of Molecular 2D Networks Assembled at the Liquid\/Solid Interfaces by Solution-Based Drop-Cast Method"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5117-8242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xingming","family":"Zeng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rongbin","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9024-8824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sadaf Bashir","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2377-4098","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shern-Long","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1039\/B616752G","article-title":"From supramolecular chemistry towards constitutional dynamic chemistry and adaptive chemistry","volume":"36","author":"Lehn","year":"2007","journal-title":"Chem. Soc. Rev."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14717","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms14717","article-title":"Templated bilayer self-assembly of fully conjugated \u03c0-expanded macrocyclic oligothiophenes complexed with fullerenes","volume":"8","author":"Iyoda","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3854","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200801428","article-title":"Hierarchical self-assembly of edge-on nanocolumnar superstructures of large disc-like molecules","volume":"20","author":"Piot","year":"2008","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3033","DOI":"10.1002\/anie.200605224","article-title":"Triangle-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons","volume":"46","author":"Feng","year":"2007","journal-title":"Angew. Chem. Int. Ed."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10454","DOI":"10.1021\/ja8024017","article-title":"Shear-induced long-range uniaxial assembly of polyaromatic monolayers at molecular resolution","volume":"130","author":"Lee","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3634","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.201000585","article-title":"Tuning the columnar organization of discotic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons","volume":"22","author":"Pisula","year":"2010","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1139","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrev.5b00190","article-title":"Discotic liquid crystals","volume":"116","author":"Wurzbach","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chem. Rev."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14093","DOI":"10.1039\/C4CC02704C","article-title":"Biaxial aromatics with face-on\/edge-on stacking adaptability: An STM\/STS study of 1D nanowires assembled via rotatable ethynyls","volume":"50","author":"Lee","year":"2014","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6830","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.langmuir.6b01418","article-title":"Enantiomeric excess-tuned 2d structural transition: From heterochiral to homochiral supramolecular assemblies","volume":"32","author":"Li","year":"2016","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1039\/b206566p","article-title":"Two-dimensional supramolecular self-assembly probed by scanning tunneling microscopy","volume":"32","year":"2003","journal-title":"Chem. Soc. Rev."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5937","DOI":"10.1039\/D1CC01574E","article-title":"Microscopic insights into long-range 1D ordering in a dense semi-disordered molecular overlayer","volume":"57","author":"Hannagan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5540","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.langmuir.1c00283","article-title":"Covalent and hydrogen bonding in adsorption of alanine molecules on Si(111)7\u00d77","volume":"37","author":"Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"730","DOI":"10.1038\/s41557-021-00709-y","article-title":"On-surface photopolymerization of two-dimensional polymers ordered on the mesoscale","volume":"13","author":"Grossmann","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. Chem."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6723","DOI":"10.1021\/acsnano.0c10065","article-title":"Nonintuitive surface self-assembly of functionalized molecules on Ag(111)","volume":"15","author":"Jeindl","year":"2021","journal-title":"ACS Nano"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khan, S., and Lee, S.-L. (2021). Supramolecular chemistry: Host\u2013guest molecular complexes. Molecules, 26.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26133995"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"276","DOI":"10.1038\/nmat1597","article-title":"Processing of giant graphene molecules by soft-landing mass spectrometry","volume":"5","author":"Rouhanipour","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nat. Mater."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1279","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.201001769","article-title":"Non-conventional processing and post-processing methods for the nanostructuring of conjugated materials for organic electronics","volume":"21","author":"Pisula","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1217","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200802202","article-title":"Controlled deposition of crystalline organic semiconductors for field-effect-transistor applications","volume":"21","author":"Liu","year":"2009","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.1038\/nmat2427","article-title":"Towards high charge-carrier mobilities by rational design of the shape and periphery of discotics","volume":"8","author":"Feng","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nat. Mater."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"819","DOI":"10.1002\/anie.200500669","article-title":"Pronounced supramolecular order in discotic donor\u2013acceptor mixtures","volume":"45","author":"Pisula","year":"2006","journal-title":"Angew. Chem. Int. Ed."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1327","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.7b10282","article-title":"Revealing the physicochemical basis of organic solid\u2013solid wetting deposition: Casimir-like forces, hydrophobic collapse, and the role of the zeta potential","volume":"140","author":"Eberle","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10050","DOI":"10.1021\/la502288v","article-title":"High-fidelity self-assembly of crystalline and parallel-oriented organic thin films by \u03c0\u2013\u03c0 stacking from a metal surface","volume":"30","author":"Skomski","year":"2014","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"468","DOI":"10.1038\/s41557-020-0454-z","article-title":"Intra- and intermolecular self-assembly of a 20-nm-wide supramolecular hexagonal grid","volume":"12","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. Chem."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7995","DOI":"10.1039\/c1cc12540k","article-title":"Surface-assisted bowl-in-bowl stacking of nonplanar aromatic hydrocarbons","volume":"47","author":"Bauert","year":"2011","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1038\/nchem.517","article-title":"Tailoring molecular layers at metal surfaces","volume":"2","author":"Bartels","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. Chem."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3417","DOI":"10.1021\/ar5001378","article-title":"Surface-based supramolecular chemistry using hydrogen bonds","volume":"47","author":"Slater","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acc. Chem. Res."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27148","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.0c08110","article-title":"Structural diversity and phase transition control via kinetics and thermodynamics in mixed solvents: Two-dimensional self-assembly at the liquid\/solid interface","volume":"124","author":"Hu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7699","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c02979","article-title":"Porous self-assembled molecular networks as templates for chiral-position-controlled chemical functionalization of graphitic surfaces","volume":"142","author":"Tahara","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1039\/D0CC06845D","article-title":"Chirality from scratch: Enantioselective adsorption in geometrically controlled lateral nanoconfinement","volume":"57","author":"Seibel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5964","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c01270","article-title":"Real-time molecular-scale imaging of dynamic network switching between covalent organic frameworks","volume":"142","author":"Zhan","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8662","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c00108","article-title":"Stereospecific epitaxial growth of bilayered porous molecular networks","volume":"142","author":"Fang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8031","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.langmuir.9b00569","article-title":"Synergic effect: Temperature-assisted electric-field-induced supramolecular phase transitions at the liquid\/solid interface","volume":"35","author":"Mahmood","year":"2019","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.9b10537","article-title":"Electrical-pulse-induced mixture and separation in surface supramolecular hybrids: Stm experiments and theoretical approaches","volume":"124","author":"Chan","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"829","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.9b11006","article-title":"Supramolecular self-assembly: Molecular polymorphs and their transitions triggered electrically via water assistance at the liquid\/graphite interface","volume":"124","author":"Saeed","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22521","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.0c06891","article-title":"Mixing behavior of trimesic acid with pentacene at the liquid\u2013solid interface","volume":"124","author":"Zeng","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8790","DOI":"10.1039\/D0CC01670E","article-title":"Electric-field-induced supramolecular phase transitions at the liquid\/solid interface: Cat-assembly from solvent additives","volume":"56","author":"Mahmood","year":"2020","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1077","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1163338","article-title":"Random tiling and topological defects in a two-dimensional molecular network","volume":"322","author":"Blunt","year":"2008","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1454","DOI":"10.1039\/D0CC07338E","article-title":"Molecular dopant determines the structure of a physisorbed self-assembled molecular network","volume":"57","author":"Steeno","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1038\/nchem.901","article-title":"Guest-induced growth of a surface-based supramolecular bilayer","volume":"3","author":"Blunt","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nat. Chem."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15072","DOI":"10.1039\/D0NR01946A","article-title":"Nanoscale tailoring of supramolecular crystals via an oriented external electric field","volume":"12","author":"Zeng","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nanoscale"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4125","DOI":"10.1039\/c1nr10485c","article-title":"Self-templating 2D supramolecular networks: A new avenue to reach control over a bilayer formation","volume":"3","author":"Ciesielski","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nanoscale"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1811","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.74.1811","article-title":"Interfacial atomic structure of a self-assembled alkyl thiol monolayer\/au(111): A sum-frequency generation study","volume":"74","author":"Yeganeh","year":"1995","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21743","DOI":"10.1021\/jp111640t","article-title":"Polymorphism driven by concentration at the solid\u2013liquid interface","volume":"115","author":"Gopakumar","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5344","DOI":"10.1039\/C4NR06808D","article-title":"Efficient screening of 2D molecular polymorphs at the solution-solid interface","volume":"7","author":"Lee","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nanoscale"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7134","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c01482","article-title":"Multicomponent metallo-supramolecular nanocapsules assembled from calix[4]resorcinarene-based terpyridine ligands","volume":"142","author":"He","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16661","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c06618","article-title":"Conformational regulation of multivalent terpyridine ligands for self-assembly of heteroleptic metallo-supramolecules","volume":"142","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."}],"container-title":["Molecules"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1420-3049\/26\/24\/7707\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T07:50:05Z","timestamp":1760169005000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1420-3049\/26\/24\/7707"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,20]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["molecules26247707"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/molecules26247707","relation":{},"ISSN":["1420-3049"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1420-3049","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,20]]}}}