Leonhard Grill | |
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| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Experimental physicist  |
Leonhard Grill is an Austrian experimental physicist. He is a professor at the University of Graz in the field of nanoscience, in particular with functional molecules on surfaces.
Leonhard Grill | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Experimental physicist |
Leonhard Grill is an Austrian experimental physicist. He is a professor at the University of Graz in the field of nanoscience, in particular with functional molecules on surfaces.
After his undergraduate studies in physics at the University of Graz, [1] [2] Grill worked with Silvio Modesti at the Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia (INFM) in Trieste on his doctoral thesis: "Growth of thin metallic overlayers on Ge(111): Electron confinement and characterization of image resonances by selective electron scattering". [3] [4] He then moved to the Freie University of Berlin (FU Berlin) to work with Karl-Heinz Rieder [5] where he began to work on the manipulation of single molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). [6] [7] In 2007 he submitted his habilitation at the FU Berlin. [8]
He was appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Graz in 2013. [9]
Grill's research group uses scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study and selectively manipulate molecules on surfaces. His interests range from chemical processes of single atoms and molecules to the bottom-up growth of two-dimensional supra- and macromolecular assemblies. Additional research areas include molecules with mechanical, chemical, electronic, optical or electrical functionalities. [10]
By pulling individual polymers off of a surface with the tip of the scanning tunnelling microscope, Grill's group was able to measure for the first time the conductivity of individual molecular wires as a function of their length. [11] [12] He studied the switching mechanism of single-molecule switches, [13] based on intramolecular isomerization or proton transfer. In addition, his group found that a strong influence of the immediate environment on each molecule existed – caused both by the atomic lattice of the surface [14] and single atoms in the vicinity of the molecule. [15] His contributions to the field of molecular dynamics on surfaces include rolling [16] the first molecular wheels across a surface, activating molecular motors with light, [17] and moving individual molecules over relatively large distances with extremely high precision. [18] [19] [20] By combining a molecule with a surface, his group discovered a novel type of molecular motor that can move unidirectionally with 100% efficiency, and even transport individual carbon monoxide molecules as "cargo". [21] This system has been described as "a nanoscale bulldozer". [22]
Grill developed, together with Stefan Hecht, "covalent on-surface polymerization", [23] in which molecular building blocks are connected to construct highly defined and stable networks on surfaces. [24] [25]
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