From Graphene Nanoribbons on Cu(111) to Nanographene on Cu(110): Critical Role of Substrate Structure in the Bottom-Up Fabrication Strategy

Recent Advances of Hierarchical and Sequential Growth of Macromolecular Organic Structures on Surface

The fabrication of macromolecular organic structures on surfaces is one major concern in materials science. Nanoribbons, linear polymers, and porous nanostructures have gained a lot of interest due to their possible applications ranging from nanotemplates, catalysis, optoelectronics, sensors, or data storage. During decades, supramolecular chemistry has constituted an unavoidable approach for the design of well-organized structures on surfaces displaying a long-range order. Following these initial works, an important milestone has been established with the formation of covalent bonds between molecules. Resulting from this unprecedented approach, various nanostructures of improved thermal and chemical stability compared to those obtained by supramolecular chemistry and displaying unique and unprecedented properties have been developed. However, a major challenge exists: the growth control is very delicate and a thorough understanding of the complex mechanisms governing the on-surface chemistry is still needed. Recently, a new approach consisting in elaborating macromolecular structures by combining consecutive steps has been identified as a promising strategy to elaborate organic structures on surface. By designing precursors with a preprogrammed sequence of reactivity, a hierarchical or a sequential growth of 1D and 2D structures can be realized. In this review, the different reaction combinations used for the design of 1D and 2D structures are reported. To date, eight different sequences of reactions have been examined since 2008, evidencing the intense research activity existing in this field.

Interpolymer Self-Assembly of Bottom-up Graphene Nanoribbons Fabricated from Fluorinated Precursors

Interpolymer self-assembly of bottom-up graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) has been realized by using fluorinated anthracene trimer precursors (HFH-DBTA) deposited onto heated Au(111) substrate. Whereas polymers derived from conventional precursor [10,10'-dibromo-9,9'-bianthryl (DBBA)] are adsorbed on Au(111) without apparent close packing, poly-HFH polymers derived from HFH-DBTA are densely self-assembled and require a long annealing time for cyclo-dehydrogenation because of the steric hindrance. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory revealed that the partially fluorinated edges of HFH-DBTA make molecular-substrate interaction weaker than that of DBBA, accelerate desorption, and leave islands of accumulated and locally aligned polymers. The partially fluorinated precursors also induce templating effects in interpolymer stacking because of H-F hydrogen bonding and F-F repulsion. The statistical analysis revealed that 84% of GNRs is parallel to the adjacent GNRs in the case of HFH-DBTA precursors. Field-effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated using such locally aligned multiple GNRs as channels. It has been found that on average, the on-current of the FETs is three times larger than that of FETs using less-aligned GNR channels made from the conventional DBBA precursors.

Supramolecular Assemblies on Surfaces: Nanopatterning, Functionality, and Reactivity

Understanding how molecules interact to form large-scale hierarchical structures on surfaces holds promise for building designer nanoscale constructs with defined chemical and physical properties. Here, we describe early advances in this field and highlight upcoming opportunities and challenges. Both direct intermolecular interactions and those that are mediated by coordinated metal centers or substrates are discussed. These interactions can be additive, but they can also interfere with each other, leading to new assemblies in which electrical potentials vary at distances much larger than those of typical chemical interactions. Earlier spectroscopic and surface measurements have provided partial information on such interfacial effects. In the interim, scanning probe microscopies have assumed defining roles in the field of molecular organization on surfaces, delivering deeper understanding of interactions, structures, and local potentials. Self-assembly is a key strategy to form extended structures on surfaces, advancing nanolithography into the chemical dimension and providing simultaneous control at multiple scales. In parallel, the emergence of graphene and the resulting impetus to explore 2D materials have broadened the field, as surface-confined reactions of molecular building blocks provide access to such materials as 2D polymers and graphene nanoribbons. In this Review, we describe recent advances and point out promising directions that will lead to even greater and more robust capabilities to exploit designer surfaces.

Spontaneous separation of on-surface synthesized tris-helicenes into two-dimensional homochiral domains

The on-surface Ullmann coupling of 2,3-dibromo[4]helicene molecules is studied on Au(111) and Cu(111) surfaces. Bis-helicene and tris-helicene are identified with scanning tunnelling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as reaction products. The produced star-shaped tris-helicenes self-assemble on Au(111) spontaneously into large homochiral domains.

Precise Monoselective Aromatic C-H Bond Activation by Chemisorption of Meta-Aryne on a Metal Surface

Aromatic C-H bond activation has attracted much attention due to its versatile applications in the synthesis of aryl-containing chemicals. The major challenge lies in the minimization of the activation barrier and maximization of the regioselectivity. Here, we report the highly selective activation of the central aromatic C-H bond in meta-aryne species anchored to a copper surface, which catalyzes the C-H bond dissociation. Two prototype molecules, i.e., 4',6'-dibromo- meta-terphenyl and 3',5'-dibromo- ortho-terphenyl, have been employed to perform C-C coupling reactions on Cu(111). The chemical structures of the resulting products have been clarified by a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy. Both methods demonstrate a remarkable weakening of the targeted C-H bond. Density functional theory calculations reveal that this efficient C-H activation stems from the extraordinary chemisorption of the meta-aryne on the Cu(111) surface, resulting in the close proximity of the targeted C-H group to the Cu(111) surface and the absence of planarity of the phenyl ring. These effects lead to a lowering of the C-H dissociation barrier from 1.80 to 1.12 eV, in agreement with the experimental data.

Surface-assisted dehydrogenative homocoupling and cyclodehydrogenation of mesityl groups on a copper surface

We present for the first time an adjacent dehydrogenative homocoupling and cyclodehydrogenation reaction of mesityl groups to form a synthetic nanoribbon on Cu(110). Submolecular resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm the formation of an ethylene (-CH[double bond, length as m-dash]CH-) unit or an aromatic six-membered ring group.

Epitaxial growth of aligned atomically precise chevron graphene nanoribbons on Cu(111)

Atomically precise chevron graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have been synthesized on Cu(111) substrates by the surface-assisted coupling of 6,11-dibromo-1,2,3,4-tetraphenyltriphenylene (C₄₂Br₂H₂₆) and thermal cyclodehydrogenation of the resulting polymer. The GNRs form on Cu(111) epitaxially along the 〈112〉 crystallographic directions, which was found to be in agreement with the computational results, and at lower temperatures than on Au(111). This work demonstrates that the substrate plays an important role in the on-surface synthesis of GNRs and can result in new assembly modes of GNR structures.

Synthesis of armchair graphene nanoribbons from the 10,10'-dibromo-9,9'-bianthracene molecules on Ag(111): the role of organometallic intermediates

We investigate the bottom-up growth of N = 7 armchair graphene nanoribbons (7-AGNRs) from the 10,10′-dibromo-9,9′-bianthracene (DBBA) molecules on Ag(111) with the focus on the role of the organometallic (OM) intermediates. It is demonstrated that DBBA molecules on Ag(111) are partially debrominated at room temperature and lose all bromine atoms at elevated temperatures. Similar to DBBA on Cu(111), debrominated molecules form OM chains on Ag(111). Nevertheless, in contrast with the Cu(111) substrate, formation of polyanthracene chains from OM intermediates via an Ullmann-type reaction is feasible on Ag(111). Cleavage of C–Ag bonds occurs before the thermal threshold for the surface-catalyzed activation of C–H bonds on Ag(111) is reached, while on Cu(111) activation of C–H bonds occurs in parallel with the cleavage of the stronger C–Cu bonds. Consequently, while OM intermediates obstruct the Ullmann reaction between DBBA molecules on the Cu(111) substrate, they are required for the formation of polyanthracene chains on Ag(111). If the Ullmann-type reaction on Ag(111) is inhibited, heating of the OM chains produces nanographenes instead. Heating of the polyanthracene chains produces 7-AGNRs, while heating of nanographenes causes the formation of the disordered structures with the possible admixture of short GNRs.

Imaging on-surface hierarchical assembly of chiral supramolecular networks

The bottom-up assembly of chiral structures usually relies on a cascade of molecular recognition interactions. A thorough description of these complex stereochemical mechanisms requires the capability of imaging multilevel coordination in real-time. Here we report the first direct observation of hierarchical expression of supramolecular chirality at work, for 10,10'-dibromo-9,9'-bianthryl (DBBA) on Cu(111). Molecular recognition first steers the growth of chiral organometallic chains and then leads to the formation of enantiopure islands. The structure of the networks was determined by noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM), while high-speed scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) revealed details of the assembly mechanisms at the ms time-scale. The direct observation of the chirality transfer pathways allowed us to evaluate the enantioselectivity of the interchain coupling.

Construction of boronate ester based single-layered covalent organic frameworks

Boronate ester based single-layered covalent organic frameworks (sCOFs) with large domain areas and uniform pore sizes have been fabricated on graphite under an ambient atmosphere. The phase separation to generate the boronate ester based sCOFs, boroxine based sCOFs and other nanostructures could be tuned using the molecular ratio of the two precursors, demonstrating a self-sorting process for on-surface dynamic covalent chemistry.

On-Surface Growth Dynamics of Graphene Nanoribbons: The Role of Halogen Functionalization

On-surface synthesis is a powerful route toward the fabrication of specific graphene-like nanostructures confined in two dimensions. This strategy has been successfully applied to the growth of graphene nanoribbons of diverse width and edge morphology. Here, we investigate the mechanisms driving the growth of 9-atom wide armchair graphene nanoribbons by using scanning tunneling microscopy, fast X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption techniques. Particular attention is given to the role of halogen functionalization (Br or I) of the molecular precursors. We show that the use of iodine-containing monomers fosters the growth of longer graphene nanoribbons (average length of 45 nm) due to a larger separation of the polymerization and cyclodehydrogenation temperatures. Detailed insight into the growth process is obtained by analysis of kinetic curves extracted from the fast X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data. Our study provides fundamental details of relevance to the production of future electronic devices and highlights the importance of not only the rational design of molecular precursors but also the most suitable reaction pathways to achieve the desired final structures.

Synthesis of corrugated C-based nanostructures by Br-corannulene oligomerization

The structure and electronic properties of carbon-based nanostructures obtained by metal surface assisted synthesis is highly dependent on the nature of the precursor molecule.

Dense monolayer films of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons on metallic substrates enabled by direct contact transfer of molecular precursors

Atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) of two types, chevron GNRs and N = 7 straight armchair GNRs (7-AGNRs), have been synthesized through a direct contact transfer (DCT) of molecular precursors on Au(111) and gradual annealing. This method provides an alternative to the conventional approach for the deposition of molecules on surfaces by sublimation and simplifies preparation of dense monolayer films of GNRs. The DCT method allows deposition of molecules on a surface in their original state and then studying their gradual transformation to polymers to GNRs by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) upon annealing. We performed STM characterization of the precursors of chevron GNRs and 7-AGNRs, and demonstrate that the assemblies of the intermediates of the GNR synthesis are stabilized by π-π interactions. This conclusion was supported by the density functional theory calculations. The resulting monolayer films of GNRs have sufficient coverage and density of nanoribbons for ex situ characterization by spectroscopic methods, such as Raman spectroscopy, and may prove useful for the future GNR device studies.

On-Surface Oligomerization of Self-Terminating Molecular Chains for the Design of Spintronic Devices

Molecular spintronics is currently attracting a lot of attention due to its great advantages over traditional electronics. A variety of self-assembled molecule-based devices are under development, but studies regarding the reliability of the growth process remain rare. Here, we present a method to control the length of molecular spintronic chains and to make their terminations chemically inert, thereby suppressing uncontrolled coupling to surface defects. The temperature evolution of chain formation was followed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine optimal growth conditions. The final structures of the chains were then studied, using scanning tunneling microscopy, as a function of oligomerization conditions. We find that short chains are readily synthesized with high yields and that long chains, even exceeding 70mers, can be realized under optimized growth parameters, albeit with reduced yields.

Monitoring the On-Surface Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons by Mass Spectrometry

We present a mass spectrometric approach to characterize and monitor the intermediates of graphene nanoribbon (GNR) formation by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on top of Au(111) surfaces. Information regarding the repeating units, lengths, and termini can be obtained directly from the surface sample by a modified matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) method. The mass spectrometric results reveal ample oxidative side reactions under CVD conditions that can be drastically diminished by the introduction of protective H₂ gas at ambient pressure. Simultaneously, the addition of hydrogen extends the lengths of the oligophenylenes and thus the final GNRs. Moreover, the prematurely formed cyclodehydrogenation products during the oligomer growth can be assigned by the mass spectrometric technique. The obtained mechanistic insights provide valuable information for optimizing and upscaling the bottom-up fabrication of GNRs. Given the important role of GNRs as semiconductors, the mass spectrometric analysis provides a readily available tool to characterize and improve their structural perfection.

Chiral-Selective Formation of 1D Polymers Based on Ullmann-Type Coupling: The Role of the Metallic Substrate

The chiral-selective formation of 1D polymers from a prochiral molecule, namely, 6,12-dibromochrysene in dependence of the type of metal surface is demonstrated by a combined scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory study. Deposition of the chosen molecule on Au(111) held at room temperature leads to the formation of a 2D porous molecular network. Upon annealing at 200 °C, an achiral covalently linked polymer is formed on Au(111). On the other hand, a chiral Cu-coordinated polymer is spontaneously formed upon deposition of the molecules on Cu(111) held at room temperature. Importantly, it is found that the chiral-selectivity determines the possibility of obtaining graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). On Au(111), upon annealing at 350 °C or higher cyclo-dehydrogenation occurs transforming the achiral polymer into a GNR. In contrast, the chiral coordination polymer on Cu(111) cannot be converted into a GNR.

Controllable conversion of quasi-freestanding polymer chains to graphene nanoribbons

In the bottom-up synthesis of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) from self-assembled linear polymer intermediates, surface-assisted cyclodehydrogenations usually take place on catalytic metal surfaces. Here we demonstrate the formation of GNRs from quasi-freestanding polymers assisted by hole injections from a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) tip. While catalytic cyclodehydrogenations typically occur in a domino-like conversion process during the thermal annealing, the hole-injection-assisted reactions happen at selective molecular sites controlled by the STM tip. The charge injections lower the cyclodehydrogenation barrier in the catalyst-free formation of graphitic lattices, and the orbital symmetry conservation rules favour hole rather than electron injections for the GNR formation. The created polymer–GNR intraribbon heterostructures have a type-I energy level alignment and strongly localized interfacial states. This finding points to a new route towards controllable synthesis of freestanding graphitic layers, facilitating the design of on-surface reactions for GNR-based structures.

A key step in the on-surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbons is thermal annealing of polymer precursors on a metal substrate. Here, Ma et al. decouple the cyclodehydrogenation reaction from the catalytic metal substrate and grow graphene nanoribbons by injecting charges at molecular sites.

Synthesis of carbon nanofibers by thermal conversion of the molecular precursor 5,6;11,12-di-o-phenylenetetracene and its application in a chemiresistive gas sensor

Carbon nanofibers with an amorphous solid structure have been synthesized by thermal conversion of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 5,6;11,12-di-o-phenylenetetracene (DOPT) at 1000 °C on various substrates.

A new on-surface synthetic pathway to 5-armchair graphene nanoribbons on Cu(111) surfaces

We report a new pathway to fabricate armchair graphene nanoribbons with five carbon atoms in the cross section (5-AGNRs) on Cu(111) surfaces. Instead of using haloaromatics as precursors, the 5-AGNRs are synthesized via a surface assisted decarboxylation reaction of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA). The on-surface decarboxylation of PTCDA can produce extended copper–perylene chains on Cu(111) that are able to transform into graphene nanoribbons after annealing at higher temperatures (ca. 630 K). Due to the low yield (ca. 20%) of GNRs upon copper extrusion, various gases are introduced to assist the transformation of the copper–perylene chains into the GNRs. Typical reducing gases (H₂ and CO) and oxidizing gas (O₂) are evaluated for their performance in breaking aryl–Cu bonds. This method enriches on-surface protocols for the synthesis of AGNRs using non-halogen containing precursors.

Surface-assisted Ullmann coupling

Surface-assisted Ullmann coupling is both drosophila and workhorse of on-surface synthesis. The fabrication of novel covalent low-dimensional organic nanostructures is accompanied by fundamental studies of surface chemistry.

Synthesis of graphene nanoribbons with a defined mixed edge-site sequence by surface assisted polymerization of (1,6)-dibromopyrene on Ag(110)

By a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy, X-ray spectroscopic techniques and density functional theory calculations, we prove the formation of extended patterns of parallel, graphene nanoribbons with alternate zig-zag and armchair edges and selected width by surface-assisted Ullmann coupling polymerization and dehydrogenation of 1,6-dibromopyrene (C₁₆H₈Br₂). Besides the relevance of these nanostructures for their possible application in nanodevices, we demonstrate the peculiarity of halogenated pyrene derivatives for the formation of nanoribbons, in particular on Ag(110). These results open the possibility of tuning the shape and dimension of nanoribbons (and hence the correlated electronic properties) by choosing suitably tailored or on-purpose designed molecular precursors.

Substrate-Independent Growth of Atomically Precise Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons

Contributing to the need for new graphene nanoribbon (GNR) structures that can be synthesized with atomic precision, we have designed a reactant that renders chiral (3,1)-GNRs after a multistep reaction including Ullmann coupling and cyclodehydrogenation. The nanoribbon synthesis has been successfully proven on different coinage metals, and the formation process, together with the fingerprints associated with each reaction step, has been studied by combining scanning tunneling microscopy, core-level spectroscopy, and density functional calculations. In addition to the GNR's chiral edge structure, the substantial GNR lengths achieved and the low processing temperature required to complete the reaction grant this reactant extremely interesting properties for potential applications.

Purely Armchair or Partially Chiral: Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy Characterization of Dibromo-Bianthryl-Based Graphene Nanoribbons Grown on Cu(111)

We report on the atomic structure of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) formed via on-surface synthesis from 10,10'-dibromo-9,9'-bianthryl (DBBA) precursors on Cu(111). By means of ultrahigh vacuum noncontact atomic force microscopy with CO-functionalized tips we unveil the chiral nature of the so-formed GNRs, a structure that has been under considerable debate. Furthermore, we prove that-in this particular case-the coupling selectivity usually introduced by halogen substitution is overruled by the structural and catalytic properties of the substrate. Specifically, we show that identical chiral GNRs are obtained from 9,9'-bianthryl, the unsubstituted sister molecule of DBBA.

Confined Synthesis of Organometallic Chains and Macrocycles by Cu-O Surface Templating

The bottom-up construction of low-dimensional macromolecular nanostructures directly on a surface is a promising approach for future application in molecular electronics and integrated circuit production. However, challenges still remain in controlling the formation of these nanostructures with predetermined patterns (such as linear or cyclic) or dimensions (such as the length of one-dimensional (1D) chains). Here, we demonstrate that a high degree of structural control can be achieved by employing a Cu(110)-(2×1)O nanotemplate for the confined synthesis of organometallic chains and macrocycles. This template contains ordered arrays of alternating stripes of Cu-O chains and bare Cu, the widths of which are controllable. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction, we show that well-defined, ordered 1D zigzag organometallic oligomeric chains with uniform lengths can be fabricated on the Cu stripes (width >5.6 nm) of the Cu(110)-(2×1)O surface. In addition, the lengths of the meta-terphenyl (MTP)-based chains can be adjusted by controlling the widths of the Cu stripes within a certain range. When reducing the widths of Cu stripes to a range of 2.6 to 5.6 nm, organometallic macrocycles including tetramer (MTP-Cu)4, hexamer (MTP-Cu)6, and octamer (MTP-Cu)8 species are formed due to the spatial confinement effect and attraction to the Cu-O chains. An overview of all formed organometallic macrocycles on the Cu stripes with different widths reveals that the origin of the formation of these macrocycles is the cis-configured organometallic dimer (MTP)2Cu3, which was observed on the extremely narrow Cu stripe with a width of 1.5 nm.

Reaction mechanisms for on-surface synthesis of covalent nanostructures

In recent years, on-surface synthesis has become an increasingly popular strategy to form covalent nanostructures. The approach has great prospects for facilitating the manufacture of a range of fascinating materials with atomic precision. However, the on-surface reactions are enigmatic to control, currently restricting its bright perspectives and there is a great need to explore how the reactions are governed. The objective of this topical review is to summarize theoretical work that has focused on comprehending on-surface synthesis protocols through studies of reaction mechanisms.

The role of the substrate structure in the on-surface synthesis of organometallic and covalent oligophenylene chains

Depending on the substrate temperature, the deposition of DMTP molecules on a Cu(110) surface can result in the formation of either organometallic or oligophenylene zigzag chains.