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On‐Surface Synthesis of NBN‐Doped Zigzag‐Edged Graphene Nanoribbons
Author(s) -
Fu Yubin,
Yang Huan,
Gao Yixuan,
Huang Li,
Berger Reinhard,
Liu Junzhi,
Lu Hongliang,
Cheng Zhihai,
Du Shixuan,
Gao HongJun,
Feng Xinliang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202000488
Subject(s) - zigzag , graphene nanoribbons , materials science , scanning tunneling microscope , density functional theory , gapless playback , scanning tunneling spectroscopy , doping , nanotechnology , electronic structure , graphene , condensed matter physics , optoelectronics , computational chemistry , chemistry , geometry , physics , mathematics
We report the first bottom‐up synthesis of NBN‐doped zigzag‐edged GNRs (NBN‐ZGNR1 and NBN‐ZGNR2) through surface‐assisted polymerization and cyclodehydrogenation based on two U‐shaped molecular precursors with an NBN unit preinstalled at the zigzag edge. The resultant zigzag‐edge topologies of GNRs are elucidated by high‐resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in combination with noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc‐AFM). Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the electronic structures of NBN‐ZGNR1 and NBN‐ZGNR2 are significantly different from those of their corresponding pristine fully‐carbon‐based ZGNRs. Additionally, DFT calculations predict that the electronic structures of NBN‐ZGNRs can be further tailored to be gapless and metallic through one‐electron oxidation of each NBN unit into the corresponding radical cations. This work reported herein provides a feasible strategy for the synthesis of GNRs with stable zigzag edges yet tunable electronic properties.