Controlling Molecular Processes in the Second Dimension

Surfaces and interfaces are all around us and represent critical zones of interactions where materials meet remarkable changes in physical, chemical, or biological properties, often leading to unique phenomena that are essential to both fundamental processes and advanced technological applications. Scanning Probe Microscopies, including Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy stand as primary tools for the visualization of phenomena on crystalline surfaces, thanks to their unprecedented lateral resolution. However, full understanding and control of such processes at the nanoscale remain one of the main challenges in surface science. In this context, the application of STM at the solid-liquid interface emerges not only as an imaging technique for unravelling 2D-nanoarchitectures at the molecular level, but also means to initiate and control chemical and physical processes confined in the second dimension on crystalline surfaces.