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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Synthesis of a Borylated Ibuprofen Derivative Through Suzuki Cross-Coupling and Alkene Boracarboxylation Reactions
Published on: November 30, 2022
On-surface synthesis of planar dendrimers via divergent cross-coupling reaction
Deng-Yuan Li1, Shi-Wen Li1, Yu-Li Xie1
1Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science & Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, China.
Abstract:
Dendrimers are homostructural and highly branched macromolecules with unique dendritic effects and extensive use in multidisciplinary fields. Although thousands of dendrimers have been synthesized in solution, the on-surface synthetic protocol for planar dendrimers has never been explored, limiting the elucidation of the mechanism of dendritic effects at the single-molecule level. Herein, we describe an on-surface synthetic approach to planar dendrimers, in which exogenous palladium is used as a catalyst to address the divergent cross-coupling of aryl bromides with isocyanides. This reaction enables one aryl bromide to react with two isocyanides in sequential steps to generate the divergently grown product composed of a core and two branches with high selectivity and reactivity. Then, a dendron with four branches and dendrimers with eight or twelve branches in the outermost shell are synthesized on Au(111). This work opens the door for the on-surface synthesis of various planar dendrimers and relevant macromolecular systems.
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