Our research encompasses a broad range of activities, listed below, with a common objective: to better understand fundamental principles and mechanisms involved in the chemistry and physics at surfaces for the rational nanoscale design of functional materials. Our interest stems from a wish to explore the fundamental properties of the materials, as well as from a need for understanding their properties in sufficient detail to be able to improve device performances in technological applications. We believe many of such issues can be addressed with scanning probe microscopies (STM, AFM) by providing high-resolution, real-space, and time-resolved images of surface phenomena. Strategies are devised to properly interrogate relevant systems at the atomic scale. For instance, surface nano-engineering is investigated with the aim of delivering concepts that can be used for the development of new devices, in a variety of fields such as heterogeneous catalysis, photo-catalysis, opto-electronics, molecular electronics and architectures.

We aim at going beyond the traditional use of such instrumentation (i.e. high-magnification topography) by achieving the following:

• local electronic and vibrational spectroscopy (STS and IETS) of single atoms or molecules;
• atomic and molecular manipulations;
• fast-acquisition (several tens of images per second) towards resolving dynamics at surfaces;
• high-pressure measurements towards meaningful studies at the gas/solid interface (UHV-based).

The various research activities we are presently working on are listed below:

• epitaxial graphene;
• molecular switches;
• the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis;
• and some cool stuff with great colleagues.