Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026
08:18
Microscopic Visualization of Porous Nanographenes Synthesized through a Combination of Solution and On-Surface Chemistry
Published on: March 4, 2021
Negatively Curved Chiral Bilayer Nanographene.
Yang-Yang Ju1,2,3, Yu-Dong Huang2, Jiang-Feng Xing2
1College of Materials Science and Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|July 6, 2026
Summary
Researchers synthesized novel chiral nanographenes that form stable bilayer structures. This discovery provides a molecular model for curved graphene and demonstrates stacking
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Discrete π-π stacked nanocarbons model layered graphitic materials.
- Existing models are typically planar, limiting insights into curved systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- Synthesize and characterize novel negatively curved chiral nanographenes.
- Investigate their self-assembly into bilayer structures.
- Explore the impact of stacking on chiral properties and electronic coupling.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of hexa[7]circulene-based chiral nanographenes (1 and 2).
- Crystallography to determine solid-state structures.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for solution structure analysis.
- Cyclic voltammetry for electronic properties.
- Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and theoretical calculations for chiral behavior.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized two negatively curved chiral nanographenes (1 and 2).
- Observed bilayer formation in the crystalline state with distinct conformations (eclipsed and displaced).
- Confirmed bilayer structure and interlayer coupling in solution for (1)₂.
- Demonstrated that bilayer stacking stabilizes chiral structures and enhances chiroptical properties.
Conclusions:
- Established a molecular model for negatively curved bilayer graphene.
- Showcased how stacking modulates chiral behavior in nanocarbons.
- Provided a strategy for designing chiral assemblies using curved nanocarbons.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
02:25Chirality
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
01:15Mechanisms of Membrane-bending
The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
02:18Fischer Projections
Learning to draw Fischer projections of molecules and understanding their relevance plays a crucial role in the visual depiction of organic molecules. A Fischer projection is a two-dimensional projection on a planar surface to simplify the three-dimensional wedge–dash representation of molecules. This is especially helpful in the case of molecules with multiple chiral centers that can be difficult to draw. Here, all the bonds of interest are represented as horizontal or vertical lines. While...
02:30Chirality in Nature
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid. The...