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Skeletal transformation to chiral nanocarbon molecules
Junichiro Hirano1, Tomoyuki Ikai1, Shinpei Kusaka2
1Department of Molecular and Macromolecular Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
Nature Communications
|July 28, 2026
Summary
A novel skeletal-transformation approach enables the synthesis of complex, three-dimensional nanocarbon molecules. This method overcomes limitations of traditional synthesis, creating large, chiral nanocarbons and enabling selective nanographene production.
Area of Science:
- * Organic Chemistry
- * Materials Science
- * Nanotechnology
Background:
- * Three-dimensional nanocarbon molecules are essential for advanced carbon materials.
- * Current synthetic methods rely on stepwise bond formation, limiting chemical diversity.
- * A new skeletal-transformation approach is needed to expand synthetic possibilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To demonstrate a skeletal-transformation approach for synthesizing complex nanocarbon molecules.
- * To overcome limitations in current nanocarbon synthesis methods.
- * To access novel decagon-containing chiral nanocarbons and helically twisted nanographenes.
Main Methods:
- * Inner-bond cleavage of π-conjugated hydrocarbons to form a ten-membered sp2-carbon ring.
- * Ring-expansion of the ten-membered ring to create gigantic decagon-containing nanocarbon molecules.
- * Reformation of an internal double bond for regio- and enantio-selective synthesis of nanographenes.
Main Results:
- * Successfully synthesized three gigantic decagon-containing chiral nanocarbon molecules (up to 170 sp2 carbons) with figure-eight or bathtub conformations.
- * Achieved regio- and enantio-selective synthesis of a helically twisted nanographene (up to 26 six-membered rings).
- * Characterized a homochiral porous framework in the nanographene crystal structure formed by π-stacked double-helical assemblies.
Conclusions:
- * The skeletal-transformation approach is effective for synthesizing complex nanocarbon architectures.
- * This method expands the accessible chemical space for nanocarbon materials.
- * The demonstrated approach can be applied to create novel chiral nanocarbons and nanographenes with unique structural and packing properties.
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