Synthesis of a Zigzag Carbon Nanobelt

21 May 2020, Version 2
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

The structure-selective precise synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been long sought in materials science. The aromatic molecules corresponding to segment structures of CNTs, i.e. carbon nanobelts (CNBs), have been of interest as templates for CNT growth. Although two of three types, armchair and chiral CNBs, have been synthesized recently, zigzag CNBs remain elusive. Herein we report the synthesis and isolation of a zigzag CNB. The synthesis involves an iterative Diels–Alder reaction sequence followed by reductive aromatization of oxygen-bridged moieties. As predicted by theoretical calculations, this CNB was isolated as a stable compound. The structure of the zigzag CNB was fully characterized by X-ray crystallography, and its wide energy gap with blue fluorescence properties were revealed by photophysical measurement. With synthetic strategies towards all three types of CNBs in hand, the road to the precise synthesis of CNTs can now proceed to the next stage.

Keywords

carbon nanobelt
molecular nanocarbon

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
cheung
Description
Actions
Title
SI CheungZigzag
Description
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.