Hybrid Edge Results in Narrowed Band Gap: Bottom-up Liquid-Phase Synthesis of Bent <i>N</i> = 6/8 Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons.

Li, Gang; Wang, Hanfei; Loes, Michael; Saxena, Anshul; Yin, Jiangliang; Sarker, Mamun; Choi, Shinyoung; Aluru, Narayana et al. · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Scalable fabrication of graphene nanoribbons with narrow band gaps has been a nontrivial challenge. Here, we have developed a simple approach to access narrow band gaps using hybrid edge structures. Bottom-up liquid-phase synthesis of bent <i>N</i> = 6/8 armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) has been achieved in high efficiency through copolymerization between an <i>o</i>-terphenyl monomer and a naphthalene-based monomer, followed by Scholl oxidation. An unexpected 1,2-aryl migration has been discovered, which is responsible for introducing kinked structures into the GNR backbones. The <i>N</i> = 6/8 AGNRs have been fully characterized to support the proposed structure and show a narrow band gap and a relatively high electrical conductivity. In addition, their application in efficient gas sensing has also been demonstrated.