西班牙多诺西亚国际物理中心(MPC)的de Oteyza, Dimas G.团队解决了石墨烯纳米带锯齿状边缘的稳定性问题。相关研究成果发表在2022年9月26日出版的《自然化学》。

具有锯齿状边缘的碳纳米结构具有独特的性质，如局域电子态和自旋，具有令人兴奋的潜在应用。然而，这种纳米结构通常是在真空条件下合成的，因为它们的锯齿状边缘在环境条件下是不稳定的。为了实现应用，必须克服这一障碍才能将其可扩展集成到器件中。

该文中，研究人员展示了两种化学保护/脱保护策略，在不稳定、空气敏感的手性石墨烯纳米带上进行了展示。氢化后，手性石墨烯纳米带可以在空气中存活，然后通过退火很容易转化回其原始结构。研究人员还通过合成一种带有酮侧基官能化的手性石墨烯纳米带，从另一个角度解决了这个问题。这种氧化形式具有化学稳定性，可以通过氢化和退火转化为原始碳氢化合物形式。在这两种情况下，去保护的手性石墨烯纳米带恢复了与原始纳米带类似的电子特性。研究人员认为两种方法都可以推广到其他石墨烯纳米带和碳基纳米结构。

附：英文原文

Title: Circumventing the stability problems of graphene nanoribbon zigzag edges

Author: Lawrence, James, Berdonces-Layunta, Alejandro, Edalatmanesh, Shayan, Castro-Esteban, Jess, Wang, Tao, Jimenez-Martin, Alejandro, de la Torre, Bruno, Castrillo-Bodero, Rodrigo, Angulo-Portugal, Paula, Mohammed, Mohammed S. G., Matj, Adam, Vilas-Varela, Manuel, Schiller, Frederik, Corso, Martina, Jelinek, Pavel, Pea, Diego, de Oteyza, Dimas G.

Issue&Volume: 2022-09-26

Abstract: Carbon nanostructures with zigzag edges exhibit unique properties—such as localized electronic states and spins—with exciting potential applications. Such nanostructures however are generally synthesized under vacuum because their zigzag edges are unstable under ambient conditions: a barrier that must be surmounted to achieve their scalable integration into devices for practical purposes. Here we show two chemical protection/deprotection strategies, demonstrated on labile, air-sensitive chiral graphene nanoribbons. Upon hydrogenation, the chiral graphene nanoribbons survive exposure to air, after which they are easily converted back to their original structure by annealing. We also approach the problem from another angle by synthesizing a form of the chiral graphene nanoribbons that is functionalized with ketone side groups. This oxidized form is chemically stable and can be converted to the pristine hydrocarbon form by hydrogenation and annealing. In both cases, the deprotected chiral graphene nanoribbons regain electronic properties similar to those of the pristine nanoribbons. We believe both approaches may be extended to other graphene nanoribbons and carbon-based nanostructures.

DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01042-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-022-01042-8