Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Structure Formation And Coupling Reactions Of Hexaphenylbenzene And Its Brominated Analog, Jacob D. Teeter, Paulo S. Costa, Christoph Dobner, Mamun Sarker, Alexander Sinitskii, A Enders

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

The on-surface coupling of the prototypical precursor molecule for graphene nanoribbon synthesis, 6,11-dibromo-1,2,3,4-tetraphenyltriphenylene (C₄₂Br₂H₂₆, TPTP), and its non-brominated analog hexaphenylbenzene (C₄₂H₃₀, HPB), was investigated on coinage metal substrates as a function of thermal treatment. For HPB, which forms non-covalent 2D monolayers at room temperature, a thermally induced transition of the monolayer’s structure could be achieved by moderate annealing, which is likely driven by π-bond formation. It is found that the dibrominated carbon positions of TPTP do not guide the coupling if the growth occurs on a substrate at temperatures that …