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Published on: March 4, 2021
The synthesis and STM/AFM imaging of 'olympicene' benzo[cd]pyrenes
Anish Mistry1, Ben Moreton, Bruno Schuler
1Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL (UK).
Abstract:
H-Benzo[cd]pyrene ('Olympicene') is a polyaromatic hydrocarbon and non-Kekulé fragment of graphene. A new synthetic method has been developed for the formation of 6H-benzo[cd]pyrene and related ketones including the first time isolation of the unstable alcohol 6H-benzo[cd]pyren-6-ol. Molecular imaging of the reaction products with scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) characterised the 6H-benzo[cd]pyrene as well as the previously intangible and significantly less stable 5H-benzo[cd]pyrene, the fully conjugated benzo[cd]pyrenyl radical and the ketones as oxidation products.
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