A group of scientists at #Nagoya University have developed a simple and powerful method to construct perfectly unidirectional molecular assembly structures on graphene. Interestingly, the method was discovered accidentally during other research. In order to apply the method to control molecular alignment, #AFM is required. The team investigated how AFM tip scanning leads to changes in molecular alignment on the graphene surface. They used sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a common surfactant molecule, as a model molecule. Studies have shown that SDS forms ribbon-like assembles on the graphene surface. For the full article, please visit: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-scientists-molecular-alignment-graphene-surface.html#jCp