Issue 5, 2024

Designing 2D stripe winding network through crown-ether intermediate Ullmann coupling on Cu(111) surface

Abstract

Chemical synthesis typically yields the most thermodynamically stable ordered arrangement, a principle also governing surface synthesis on an atomically level two-dimensional (2D) surface, fostering the creation of structured 2D formations. The linear connection arising from energetically stable chemical bonding precludes the generation of a 2D random network comprised of one-dimensional (1D) convoluted stripes through on-surface synthesis. Nonetheless, we underscored that on-surface synthesis possesses the capability not solely to fashion a 2D ordered linear network but also to fabricate a winding 2D network employing a precursor with a soft ring and intermediate state bonding within the Ullmann reaction. Here, on-surface synthesis was exhibited on Cu(111) employing a 2D self-assembled monolayer array of 4,4′,5,5′-tetrabromodibenzo[18]crown-6 ether (BrCR) precursors. These precursors were purposefully structured, with a crown ether ring at the core and Br atoms positioned at the head and tail ends, facilitating preferential connections along the elongated axis to foster a 1D stripe configuration. We illustrate how adjustments in the quantities of the intermediate state, serving as a primary linkage, can yield a labyrinthine, convoluted winding 2D network of stripes. The progression of growth, underlying mechanisms, and electronic structures were scrutinized using an ultrahigh vacuum low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) setup combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This experimental evidence opens a novel functionality in leveraging on-surface synthesis for the formation of a 2D random network. This discovery holds promise as a pioneering constituent in the construction of a ring host supramolecule, augmenting its capability to ensnare guest atoms, molecules, or ions.

Graphical abstract: Designing 2D stripe winding network through crown-ether intermediate Ullmann coupling on Cu(111) surface

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
23 Dec 2023
Accepted
21 Mar 2024
First published
22 Mar 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2024,9, 718-730

Designing 2D stripe winding network through crown-ether intermediate Ullmann coupling on Cu(111) surface

T. K. Yamada, R. Nemoto, H. Ishii, F. Nishino, Y. Chang, C. Wang, P. Krüger and M. Horie, Nanoscale Horiz., 2024, 9, 718 DOI: 10.1039/D3NH00586K

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