Periodic potentials in hybrid van der Waals heterostructures formed by supramolecular lattices on graphene

The rise of 2D materials made it possible to form heterostructures held together by weak interplanar van der Waals interactions. Within such van der Waals heterostructures, the occurrence of 2D periodic potentials significantly modifies the electronic structure of single sheets within the stack, therefore modulating the material properties. However, these periodic potentials are determined by the mechanical alignment of adjacent 2D materials, which is cumbersome and time-consuming. Here we show that programmable 1D periodic potentials extending over areas exceeding 104 nm2 and stable at ambient conditions arise when graphene is covered by a self-assembled supramolecular lattice. The amplitude and sign of the potential can be modified without altering its periodicity by employing photoreactive molecules or their reaction products. In this regard, the supramolecular lattice/graphene bilayer represents the hybrid analogue of fully inorganic van der Waals heterostructures, highlighting the rich prospects that molecular design offers to create ad hoc materials.