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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 103: Poster Session VIII: Surface reactions II
O 103.3: Poster
Thursday, March 4, 2021, 13:30–15:30, P
Formation of Polymeric Chains via On-Surface Coupling of Aldehydes — •Nan Cao1, Maryam Ebrahimi1,2, Alexander Riss1, Eduardo Corral-Rascon1, Aleksandr Baklanov1, Willi Auwärter1, and Johannes V. Barth1 — 1Physics Department E20, Technical University of Munich, D-85748 Garching, Germany — 2Department of Chemistry, Lakehead University, P7B 5E1 Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
On-surface reactions provide new prospects for the formation of well-defined nanostructures stabilized by covalent bonds. Within the last decade, inspired by classic organic reactions, many pathways were demonstrated on single crystal surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Precursors and products can be directly characterized by scanning probe techniques with atomic resolution in real space. Here, we report on a new coupling reaction using aromatic aldehyde species. The deposition of aldehyde precursors on Ag(111), followed by a post-annealing treatment, resulted in the formation of ordered polymeric chains. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) provides insights into the structural evolution before and after the coupling reaction. Our non-contact atomic force microscopy and high-resolution STM data illustrate the linkage of carbonyl groups in the periphery of the reactants. Based on these insights, and taking into account complementary X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations, we develop a coherent picture of the reaction pathway. Our findings introduce a new avenue for the on-surface synthesis of ordered covalent nanostructures.