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Intrinsic Properties of Single Graphene Nanoribbons in Solution: Synthetic and Spectroscopic Studies

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

We report a novel type of structurally defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with uniform width of 1.7 nm and average length up to 58 nm. These GNRs are decorated with pending Diels-Alder cycloadducts of anthracenyl units and N- n-hexadecyl maleimide. The resultant bulky side groups on GNRs afford excellent dispersibility with concentrations of up to 5 mg mL-1 in many organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF), two orders of magnitude higher than the previously reported GNRs. Multiple spectroscopic studies confirm that dilute dispersions in THF (<0.1 mg mL-1) consist mainly of nonaggregated ribbons, exhibiting near-infrared emission with high quantum yield (9.1%) and long lifetime (8.7 ns). This unprecedented dispersibility allows resolving in real-time ultrafast excited-state dynamics of the GNRs, which displays features of small isolated molecules in solution. This study achieves a breakthrough in the dispersion of GNRs, which opens the door for unveiling obstructed GNR-based physical properties and potential applications.
Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
ISSN: 0002-7863
Issue: 33
Volume: 140
Pages: 10416 - 10420
Publication year:2018
BOF-keylabel:yes
IOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:6
CSS-citation score:2
Authors:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Accessibility:Open