• 文献标题:   Controllable conversion of quasi-freestanding polymer chains to graphene nanoribbons
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   MA CX, XIAO ZC, ZHANG HH, LIANG LB, HUANG JS, LU WC, SUMPTER BG, HONG KL, BERNHOLC J, LI AP
  • 作者关键词:  
  • 出版物名称:   NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
  • ISSN:   2041-1723
  • 通讯作者地址:   Oak Ridge Natl Lab
  • 被引频次:   26
  • DOI:   10.1038/ncomms14815
  • 出版年:   2017

▎ 摘  要

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.