N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Derived 1,3,5-Trimethylenebenzene: On-Surface Synthesis and Electronic Structure

1,3,5-Trimethylenebenzene (1,3,5-TMB), a 3-fold-symmetric triradical with a high-spin ground state, is an attractive platform for investigating the unique spin properties of π-conjugated triangular triradicals. Here, we report the on-surface synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-derived 1,3,5-TMB (N-TMB) via surface-assisted C-C and C-N coupling reactions on Au(111). The chemical and electronic structures of N-TMB on the Au(111) surface are revealed with atomic precision using scanning tunneling microscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy, combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is demonstrated that there is substantial charge transfer between N-TMB and the substrate, resulting in a positively charged N-TMB on Au(111). DFT calculations at the UB3LYP/def2-TZVP level of theory and multireference method, e.g., CASSCF/NEVPT2, indicate that N-TMB possesses a doublet ground state with reduced C symmetry in the gas phase, contrasting the quartet ground state of 1,3,5-TMB with D₃ symmetry, and exhibits a doublet-quartet energy gap of -0.80 eV. The incorporation of NHC structures and the extended π-conjugation promote the spin-orbital overlaps in N-TMB, leading to Jahn-Teller distortion and the formation of a robust doublet state. Our results not only demonstrate the fabrication of polyradicals based on NHC but also shed light on the effect of NHC and π-conjugation on the electronic structure and spin coupling, which opens up new possibilities for precisely regulating the spin-spin exchange coupling of organic polyradicals.