Seminarium Fizyki Ciała Stałego

In recent years we observe renewed interest in the development ofefficient synthetic strategies to generate well-defined sections ofgraphene or graphene-like modules with diverse topologicalmodifications. However, the reactivity/instability of numerous moleculesas well as the insolubility of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonslimits the applications of conventional chemistry methods. An attractivealternative to the solution chemistry is based on its combination withthe on-surface synthesis approach. Furthermore, the quick development ofscanning probe techniques allows nowadays for the sub-nanometer localcharacterization of structural and electronic properties. Herein I willdemonstrate our approach based on the application of hydrogen atoms inthe on-surface experiments. First, I will discuss the synthesis of theacene series based on the application of “extra” hydrogen atoms.These hydrogen atoms located in the molecular precursors make themair-stable and provide the approach for the efficient synthesis ofhigher acenes [1,2]. Among them tridecacene [3] holds the spetialposition, as the member of the family, for which the open-shellcharacter has been observed experimentally for the first time.Subsequently the focus will be shifted toward non-metallic substrates.While the surface assisted synthesis approach has proven itseffectiveness in the precise formation of new organic compounds onmetallic surfaces one of the most challenging limitations arises fromthe deep dependence on the catalytic activity of the substrate. Thismakes the direct transfer to the technologically desired non-metallicsurfaces extremely challenging. In this talk I will present our pathwayfor the synthesis of new molecular compounds on non-metallic surfaces[4-5] with prospects for circumventing the need to exploit the catalyticrole of metallic substrates [6]. This work was supported by the National Science Center, Poland(2019/35/B/ST5/02666) References [1] R. Zuzak, et al., ACS Nano, 11, 9321−9329 (2017) [2] R. Zuzak, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 10500 –10505 (2018) [3] R. Zuzak, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 63, e202317091 (2024) [4] M. Kolmer et al., Science, 363, 57-60 (2019) [5] R. Zuzak et al., ACS Nano, 17, 2580-2587 (2023) [6] R. Zuzak et al., Nat. Commun. 16, 691 (2025)