Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) induced graphene nanoribbon (GNR) synthesis

Kolaczkowski, Steven

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104022 Copy

Description

Title

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) induced graphene nanoribbon (GNR) synthesis

Author(s)

Kolaczkowski, Steven

Contributor(s)

Lyding, Joseph

Issue Date

2019-05

Keyword(s)

• Graphene
• Graphene nanoribbon
• Scanning tunneling microscopy
• Gold
• Herring bone

Abstract

Graphene, a monoatomic layer of hexagonal lattice carbon, has been of interest to researchers in recent years due to its environmentally dependent band structure, its optical properties, and its potential device applications. However, since graphene in its natural, flat state is metallic, sheets of graphene are not good candidates for creating transistors. But, when laterally confined to a few carbon atoms across, graphene becomes semiconducting depending on the size and shape of the confinement. These structures are called graphene nanoribbons or GNRs. GNR synthesis is currently done in solution or thermally on a substrate covered with bromoaromatic precursors. While both of these methods produce large amounts of atomically precise GNRs, when viewed on a surface, they lack uniformity in length, spacing, and orientation. This paper shows the ability to use ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV-STM) to spatially control the polymerization of 10,10-dibromo-9,9-bianthracene (DBBA), the 7A GNR precursor, into polyanthrylene (PA), the polymer formed in the 7A GNR synthesis process. Using this STM based polymerization allows precise control over the length, orientation, and spacing of the PA and, given future work, could lead to this same atomically precise growth of PA into 7A GNRs.

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104022

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