Fluorescent Self-Assembled Molecular Monolayer on Graphene

We report the first fluorescent molecular self assembly on graphene. The quenching of the fluorescence of the adsorbed dye by the adjacent graphene is hindered at the molecular scale based on a spacer approach, through a specifically designed dual-functionalized self-assembling building block. This 3D tecton presents two faces, one forming a noncovalent graphene-binding pedestal and the other carrying a dye group linked by a spacer to the pedestal. The spontaneous ordering of the adsorbed layer is investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy, whereas the resulting optical properties of the whole graphene dye hybrid system are characterized by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies.