• Supramolecular effects in self-assembled monolayers.

This session will focus on the effects that intermolecular interactions have on chemisorbed layers on surfaces, and what the key factors are in being able to determine the structure of monolayers. The interpretation of data from surface characterization techniques will be contrasted with theoretical predictions of the orientation of chemisorbed molecules. We will also explore the role that these factors as well as the order in the layers have on their behaviour, in any function that they may have (binding, electron transport, etc.).

• Supramolecular systems at liquid-solid interfaces. 

​The reversible adsorption of molecules to surfaces offers multiple opportunities, from the sensing of solution borne analytes to the assembly of functional molecular architectures under conditions of strict self-assembly, where multiple components can be combined in order to generate complex supramolecular systems. This session will be devoted to the controlled assembly of complex supramolecular systems on surfaces and the role that chirality has in physisorbed layers.

• Preparing macromolecular systems on surfaces. 

One of the most burgeoning areas in surface based molecular systems is the formation of macromolecular compounds on surfaces from small molecule adsorbates. The roles that surface coverage, monomer adsorption profile and monomer and oligomer diffusion on the surface have on the outcomes of the polymerisation reactions are being discovered continuously. Molecular modelling has a vital role to play. This session will highlight what has been achieved and what are the gaps in our knowledge, as will the possibilities of characterising polymer structure, bonding, and function.

• Probing properties of molecule-based interface systems.

​Adsorption of molecules at interfaces can influence their chemical, biological, electrical or opical or magnetic properties dramatically. This final session will be devoted to the latest advances in the understanding of the effects that adsorption has on molecular behaviour from both an experimental and theoretical perspective. We will discuss the opportunities that these effects have.