Synthesis of Uniform 6-Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons and Their Isotope and Nitrogen-Doped Derivatives

On-surface synthesis enables precision synthesis of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), allowing for tailored edge structures and widths through engineered polymerization and dehydrocyclization of designed precursor molecules. Here, we report the successful transformation of various precursor molecules into uniform 0.6 nm-wide armchair GNRs encapsulated within carbon nanotubes or boron nitride nanotubes, facilitating large-scale production. Remarkably, our results show that not only aromatic hydrocarbon molecules with hexagonal structures, but also those containing pentagonal, heptagonal, or octagonal motifs yield uniform GNRs composed exclusively of hexagons. This impressive tolerance for diverse encapsulated molecules and host materials underscores the universality of our method. Additionally, we successfully synthesized 0.6 nm-wide deuterated, ¹³C isotopic, and nitrogen-doped GNRs from their respective isotopic or nitrogen-containing precursor molecules. Our approach not only paves the way for universal synthesis of uniform GNRs but also holds promise for creating versatile nanoribbons with tailored properties derived from their parent two-dimensional materials.