1 SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH Review Chemical and van der Waals Interactions at Hybrid Organic-Metal Interfaces

In this highlight we briefly review several of our recent theoretical studies focused on how the interplay between the chemical and the van der Waals interactions determines the bonding mechanism of several chemically functionalized π-conjugated organic molecules on non-magnetic and magnetic surfaces. In particular, we focus on the issue how to tailor the strength of the interaction between such π-conjugated organic molecules with a substrate of choice such that the nature of the molecular bonding has the specific features of the physisorption or chemisorption processes. Furthermore, we show how the precise control of these binding mechanisms allows us to design specific electronic and magnetic properties of hybrid organic-metallic interfaces.