Nature Communications (Mar 2017)
Controllable conversion of quasi-freestanding polymer chains to graphene nanoribbons
Abstract
A key step in the on-surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbons is thermal annealing of polymer precursors on a metal substrate. Here, Maet al. decouple the cyclodehydrogenation reaction from the catalytic metal substrate and grow graphene nanoribbons by injecting charges at molecular sites.