Technomolecular Materials: 3D Printed 2D Nanosheets with Self Patterned Electrodes
Abstract
Building on our prior work, where our team transcended self assembled molecular monolayers (SAMs) research from a 2D configuration to 3D structured materials and successfully introduced the molecular self assembled 3D printer to fabricate technomolecular materials hybrid carbon metal nanosheets that mimic biological self assembly through cooperative organic inorganic interactions these materials promise advances in nanotechnology by enabling seamless integration of molecular systems with metallic electrodes. Here we show that electron beam irradiation induces direct self patterning of silver fractal nanoelectrodes on the technomolecular nanosheets, with formation influenced by molecular structure: saturated variants yield localized nanoparticles, while conjugated ones produce propagated fractals via electron delocalization and cross linking. In situ transmission electron microscopy reveals dynamic diffusion aggregation mechanisms, allowing controlled circuit patterns through resist free electron beam lithography. This approach advances flexible electronics, bioelectronics, and energy conversion, including fractal antennas and unclonable identifiers.