The construction of electronic devices from single molecular building blocks, which possess certain functions such as switching or rectifying and are connected by atomic-scale wires on a supporting surface, is an essential goal of molecular electronics. A key challenge is the controlled assembly of molecules into desired architectures by strong, that is, covalent, intermolecular connections, enabling efficient electron transport between the molecules and providing high stability. However, no molecular networks on surfaces 'locked' by covalent interactions have been reported so far. Here, we show that such covalently bound molecular nanostructures can be formed on a gold surface upon thermal activation of porphyrin building blocks and their subsequent chemical reaction at predefined connection points. We demonstrate that the topology of these nanostructures can be precisely engineered by controlling the chemical structure of the building blocks. Our results represent a versatile route for future bottom-up construction of sophisticated electronic circuits and devices, based on individual functionalized molecules.

A key challenge in the field of nanotechnology, in particular in the design of molecular machines, novel materials or molecular electronics, is the bottom-up construction of covalently bound molecular architectures in a well-defined arrangement. To date, only rather simple structures have been obtained because of the limitation of one-step connection processes. Indeed, for the formation of sophisticated structures, step-by-step connection of molecules is required. Here, we present a strategy for the covalent connection of molecules in a hierarchical manner by the selective and sequential activation of specific sites, thereby generating species with a programmed reactivity. This approach leads to improved network quality and enables the fabrication of heterogeneous architectures with high selectivity. Furthermore, substrate-directed growth and a preferred orientation of the molecular nanostructures are achieved on an anisotropic surface. The demonstrated control over reactivity and diffusion during covalent bond formation constitutes a promising route towards the creation of sophisticated multi-component molecular nanostructures.

The development of electronic devices at the single-molecule scale requires detailed understanding of charge transport through individual molecular wires. To characterize the electrical conductance, it is necessary to vary the length of a single molecular wire, contacted to two electrodes, in a controlled way. Such studies usually determine the conductance of a certain molecular species with one specific length. We measure the conductance and mechanical characteristics of a single polyfluorene wire by pulling it up from a Au(111) surface with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, thus continuously changing its length up to more than 20 nanometers. The conductance curves show not only an exponential decay but also characteristic oscillations as one molecular unit after another is detached from the surface during stretching.