Noble Gas Provides a Solution to the Synthesis‐On‐Inert‐Surfaces Challenge for Extended Covalent Nanostructures

Grossmann L, Korn S, Breuer R, Schmittel M, Weber HB, Heckl WM, Lackinger M (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Angewandte Chemie International Edition Wiley

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202422521

Abstract

A key milestone in the field of On-Surface Synthesis (OSS) is the development of generic protocols for covalent coupling on inert surfaces. Typically, metal surfaces are used in OSS, but the strong interactions distort the intrinsic properties of the synthesized nanostructures and therefore compromise their applicability. Inert surfaces, on the other hand, preserve the nanostructures’ unique properties, but present challenges during synthesis: Activation energies are generally higher than on metal surfaces, hence thermally activated coupling on inert surfaces is severely hampered by competing premature desorption of the reactants. Using the coupling of 1,3,5-tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene (TMB) via carbon-sulfur-carbon thioether bonds, we demonstrate that annealing in a noble gas atmosphere instead of in a vacuum kinetically inhibits desorption. This allows covalent coupling on both inert graphite and even more weakly interacting graphene surfaces. We anticipate generic potential for this approach, with future experiments exploring the expandability of ambient pressure annealing to a portfolio of other coupling protocols.

Authors with CRIS profile

Sascha Korn Chair of Applied Physics (LAP) Heiko Weber Chair of Applied Physics (LAP)

Additional Organisation(s)

FAU Profilzentrum Licht.Materie.Quantentechnologien (FAU LMQ)

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Universität Siegen DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Grossmann, L., Korn, S., Breuer, R., Schmittel, M., Weber, H.B., Heckl, W.M., & Lackinger, M. (2025). Noble Gas Provides a Solution to the Synthesis‐On‐Inert‐Surfaces Challenge for Extended Covalent Nanostructures. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202422521

MLA:

Grossmann, Lukas, et al. "Noble Gas Provides a Solution to the Synthesis‐On‐Inert‐Surfaces Challenge for Extended Covalent Nanostructures." Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2025).

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