Exploration of Heteroaromatic and Antiaromatic Atomically Precise Nanographenes

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Xinliang Feng
• Subject Area: Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers ; Polymer Materials
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 391979941

The past decade has witnessed a fascinating marriage between polycyclic hydrocarbon chemistry and emerging physics. Interconnected benzene rings, namely graphene, gave rise to Dirac quasiparticles and fractionally-charged quasiparticles. These fields of Nobel recognition underlie well-known hydrocarbon chemistry notions, e.g. pi-conjugation, (hetero)aromaticity and multiradical character, to mention a few. As such, incorporating polycyclic hydrocarbon design principles into model 2D materials, might grant access to new paradigms in topological material design. In this joint Sino-German proposal, TU Dresden (TUD), a leader in heteroatom-doped nanographene chemistry, and long-term collaboration partners, who are leaders in fundamental and applied surface science, at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IoPCAS), want to establish a new field of research in heteroatom-doped cove and isoelectronic zigzag-edged, as well as antiaromatic nanographene science. The IoPCAS is known for having the largest availability of UHV surface science equipment world-wide. At the same time, German chemistry has played a pioneering role on UHV interfacial science while German physics known as active developers in avant-garde UHV techniques. This proposal aims at stimulating mobility of researchers between both countries within this key and strategic field of research and potential economical importance.All partners defined five key objectives:- Synthesis of doped (nitrogen and sulfur) cove edged graphene nanoribbons with tailored electronic properties- Synthesis of isoelectronic nitrogen-boron-nitrogen doped zigzag edged graphene nanoribbons- On-Surface generation and in situ investigation of antiaromatic N-doped nanographenes- Antiaromatic-N-doped graphene synthesis- In situ lateral transport measurmentsThe collaborative research project consists of the world-recognized scientists Prof. Xinliang Feng (TUD), Prof. Hong-Jun Gao (IoPCAS), Prof. Shixuan Du (IoPCAS), and Prof. Carlos Andres Palma (IoPCAS). Besides two internal Sino-German project workshops, an international, project related symposium with the participation of international renowned researchers of the field is planned. The total project duration is three years. The project is not covered by other financial supports such as EC Graphene Flagship.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: China
• Partner Organisation: National Natural Science Foundation of China
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Hong-Jun Gao