The properties of graphene nanoribbons depend on structural variables such as width, length, edge structure, and heteroatom-doping. Therefore, atomic precision over all these variables is necessary for establishing their fundamental properties and exploring their potential applications.
Aurelio Mateo-Alonso and colleagues, Polymat Fundazioa: Molecular and Supramolecular Materials Laboratories, Gipuzkoa, Spain, have developed an iterative, Lego-like method to prepare monodisperse nitrogen-doped nanoribbons of different lengths. The nanoribbons containing 10, 20, and 30 conjugated linearly-fused aromatic rings with lengths of 2.9, 5.3, and 7.7 nm, respectively, were precisely synthesized from two molecular building blocks via a series of iterative deprotection and condensation reactions.
The nanoribbons were characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Computational calculations predict that their bandgaps should be similar to those of inorganic semiconductors like gallium selenide or black phosphorus.
- Monodisperse N-doped Graphene Nanoribbons Reaching 7.7 nm in Length,
Diego Cortizo-Lacalle, Juan Pedro Mora-Fuentes, Karol Strutynski, Akinori Saeki, Manuel Melle-Franco, Aurelio Mateo-Alonso,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201710467
