Molecular aggregates

In physics and chemistry, we speak of atomic or molecular aggregates when atoms or molecules are assembled by forces such that they form entities that can easily be identified.

Although the notion of aggregates is a very recent one, some form naturally and others have been used by man for a very long time.

The first theoretical and experimental studies of carbon aggregates date back to the 1960s. Today, we know how to produce aggregates of all elements, in all sizes (from a few atoms to tens or hundreds of atoms).

In research, the focus is on small-scale aggregates, either supported (e.g. in a matrix) or in the gas phase, to study their structure, stability, fragments resulting from dissociation or for dedicated applications, examples of which are given in this article. Recently, there has been a veritable explosion in the use of aggregates for nanotechnologies; the need for miniaturization of electronic components has led to growing interest in molecular systems of nanometer dimensions.