Exploration of pyrazine-embedded antiaromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons generated by solution and on-surface azomethine ylide homocoupling

Abstract

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons can be precisely manipulated to yield ever more complex and discrete graphene analogs, such as nanographenes. Here, the authors use azomethine ylide homocoupling to insert an antiaromatic pyrazine ring into the core of a nanographene, and characterize the molecule’s unique electronic character.