Studying the properties of complex molecules on surfaces is still mostly an unexplored research area because the deposition of the metal complexes has many pitfalls. Herein, we probed the possibility to produce surface hybrids by depositing a Co(II)-based complex with chalcone ligands on chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene by a wet-chemistry approach and by thermal sublimation under high vacuum. Samples were characterized by high-frequency electron spin resonance (HF-ESR), XPS, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical microscopy, supported with density functional theory (DFT) and complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF)/N-electron valence second-order perturbation theory (NEVPT2) calculations. This compound's rationale is its structure, with several aromatic rings for weak binding and possible favorable π-π stacking onto graphene. In contrast to expectations, we observed the formation of nanodroplets on graphene for a drop-cast sample and microcrystallites localized at grain boundaries and defects after thermal sublimation.

Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC BUT Purkyňova 656 123 61200 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava 81237 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty of Science Palacký University 17 listopadu 12 77147 Olomouc Czech Republic

Institute of Physical Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology Technická 2 61669 Brno Czech Republic

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Photosynthetic reaction center/graphene bio-hybrid for low-power optoelectronics

Tetracoordinate Co(II) complexes with semi-coordination as stable single-ion magnets for deposition on graphene