Fluorine-programmed nanozipping to tailored nanographenes on rutile TiO 2 surfaces

Abstract

Nanographenes on oxides The growth of nanographene islands and ribbons on metal surfaces can be accomplished on single-crystal metal surfaces through carbon-carbon coupling reactions, but the surfaces of oxides do not assist these reactions. Kolmer et al. show that fluorinated aryl groups can be coupled to form nanographenes on the rutile surface of titanium oxide. The fluorine substitution of the aryl groups was selected so that as the carbon-fluorine bonds were thermally activated, a stepwise process sequentially added aromatic rings around a central aryl group until it was completely substituted. Science , this issue p. 57