Anchoring and Reacting On-Surface to Achieve Programmability

Dramatic Acceleration of the Hopf Cyclization on Gold(111): From Enediynes to Peri-Fused Diindenochrysene Graphene Nanoribbons

Hopf et al. reported the high-temperature 6π-electrocyclization of cis-hexa-1,3-diene-5-yne to benzene in 1969. Subsequent studies using this cyclization have been limited by its very high reaction barrier. Here, we show that the reaction barrier for two model systems, (E)-1,3,4,6-tetraphenyl-3-hexene-1,5-diyne (1a) and (E)-3,4-bis(4-iodophenyl)-1,6-diphenyl-3-hexene-1,5-diyne (1b), is decreased by nearly half on a Au(111) surface. We have used scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) to monitor the Hopf cyclization of enediynes 1a,b on Au(111). Enediyne 1a undergoes two sequential, quantitative Hopf cyclizations, first to naphthalene derivative 2, and finally to chrysene 3. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that a gold atom from the Au(111) surface is involved in all steps of this reaction and that it is crucial to lowering the reaction barrier. Our findings have important implications for the synthesis of novel graphene nanoribbons. Ullmann-like coupling of enediyne 1b at 20 °C on Au(111), followed by a series of Hopf cyclizations and aromatization reactions at higher temperatures, produces nanoribbons 12 and 13. These results show for the first time that graphene nanoribbons can be synthesized on a Au(111) surface using the Hopf cyclization mechanism.

Two-Dimensional Crystal Transition from Radialene to Cumulene on Ag(111) via Retro-[2 + 1] Cycloaddition

Two-dimensional (2D) crystal-to-crystal transition is an important method in crystal engineering because of its ability to directly create diverse crystal materials from one crystal. However, steering a 2D single-layer crystal-to-crystal transition on surfaces with high chemo- and stereoselectivity under ultra-high vacuum conditions is a great challenge because the transition is a complex dynamic process. Here, we report a highly chemoselective 2D crystal transition from radialene to cumulene with retention of stereoselectivity on Ag(111) via retro-[2 + 1] cycloaddition of three-membered carbon rings and directly visualize the transition process involving a stepwise epitaxial growth mechanism by the combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and non-contact atomic force microscopy. Using progression annealing, we found that isocyanides on Ag(111) at a low annealing temperature underwent sequential [1 + 1 + 1] cycloaddition and enantioselective molecular recognition based on C-H···Cl hydrogen bonding interactions to form 2D triaza[3]radialene crystals. In contrast, a higher annealing temperature induced the transformation of triaza[3]radialenes to generate trans-diaza[3]cumulenes, which were further assembled into 2D cumulene-based crystals through twofold N-Ag-N coordination and C-H···Cl hydrogen bonding interactions. By combining the observed distinct transient intermediates and density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that the retro-[2 + 1] cycloaddition reaction proceeds via the ring opening of a three-membered carbon ring, sequential dechlorination/hydrogen passivation, and deisocyanation. Our findings provide new insights into the growth mechanism and dynamics of 2D crystals and have implications for controllable crystal engineering.

On-Surface Cross-Coupling Reactions

On-surface synthesis, as a bottom-up synthetic method, has been proven to be a powerful tool for atomically precise fabrication of low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials over the past 15 years. This method relies on covalent coupling reactions that occur on solid substrates such as metal or metal oxide surfaces under ultra-high-vacuum conditions, and the achievements with this method have greatly enriched fundamental science and technology. However, due to the complicated reactivity of organic groups, distinct diffusion of reactants and intermediates, and irreversibility of covalent bonds, achieving the high selectivity of covalent coupling reactions on surfaces remains a great challenge. As a result, only a few on-surface covalent coupling reactions, mainly involving dehalogenation and dehydrogenation homocoupling, are frequently used in the synthesis of low-dimensional carbon nanosystems. In this Perspective, we focus on the development and synthetic applications of on-surface cross-coupling reactions, mainly Ullmann, Sonogashira, Heck, and divergent cross-coupling reactions.

Innovations in nanosynthesis: emerging techniques for precision, scalability, and spatial control in reactions of organic molecules on solid surfaces

The surface science-based approach to synthesising new organic materials on surfaces has gained considerable attention in recent years, owing to its success in facilitating the formation of novel 0D, 1D and 2D architectures. The primary mechanism used to date has been the catalytic transformation of small organic molecules through substrate-enabled reactions. In this Topical Review, we provide an overview of alternate approaches to controlling molecular reactions on surfaces. These approaches include light, electron and ion-initiated reactions, electrospray ionisation deposition-based techniques, collisions of neutral atoms and molecules, and superhydrogenation. We focus on the opportunities afforded by these alternative approaches, in particular where they may offer advantages in terms of selectivity, spatial control or scalability.

Molecular Diffusion and Self-Assembly: Quantifying the Influence of Substrate hcp and fcc Atomic Stacking

Molecular diffusion is a fundamental process underpinning surface-confined molecular self-assembly and synthesis. Substrate topography influences molecular assembly, alignment, and reactions with the relationship between topography and diffusion linked to the thermodynamic evolution of such processes. Here, we observe preferential adsorption sites for tetraphenylporphyrin (2H-TPP) on Au(111) and interpret nucleation and growth of molecular islands at these sites in terms of spatial variation in diffusion barrier driven by local atomic arrangements of the Au(111) surface (the 22× √3 "herringbone" reconstruction). Variable-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy facilitates characterization of molecular diffusion, and Arrhenius analysis allows quantitative characterization of diffusion barriers within fcc and hcp regions of the surface reconstruction (where the in-plane arrangement of the surface atoms is identical but the vertical stacking differs). The higher barrier for diffusion within fcc locations underpins the ubiquitous observation of preferential island growth within fcc regions, demonstrating the relationship between substrate-structure, diffusion, and molecular self-assembly.

Step-Assisted On-Surface Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons Embedded with Periodic Divacancies

The bottom-up approach through on-surface synthesis of porous graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) presents a controllable manner for implanting periodic nanostructures to tune the electronic properties of GNRs in addition to bandgap engineering by width and edge configurations. However, owing to the existing steric hindrance in small pores like divacancies, it is still difficult to embed periodic divacancies with a nonplanar configuration into GNRs. Here, we demonstrate the on-surface synthesis of atomically precise eight-carbon-wide armchair GNRs embedded with periodic divacancies (DV8-aGNRs) by utilizing the monatomic step edges on the Au(111) surface. From a single molecular precursor correspondingly following a trans- and cis-coupling, the DV8-aGNR and another porous nanographene are respectively formed at step edges and on terraces at 720 and 570 K. Combining scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and first-principles calculations, we determine the out-of-plane conformation, wide bandgap (∼3.36 eV), and wiggly shaped frontier orbitals of the DV8-aGNR. Nudged elastic band calculations further quantitatively reveal that the additional steric hindrance effect in the cyclodehydrogenative reactions has a higher barrier of 1.3 eV than that in the planar porous nanographene, which also unveils the important role played by the monatomic Au step and adatoms in reducing the energy barriers and enhancing the thermodynamic preference of the oxidative cyclodehydrogenation. Our results provide the first case of GNRs containing periodic pores as small as divacancies with a nonplanar configuration and demonstrate the strategy by utilizing the chemical heterogeneity of a substrate to promote the formation of novel carbon nanomaterials.