On Surface Synthesis of an Eleven-Ring Sulphur-Doped Nonacene

Abstract

Ditihienoacenes with a heptacene core, the heptaceno[2,3-b:11,12-b′]bis[1]benzothiophene, have been synthesized through the combination of solution and surface assisted chemistry. The atomic composition, structural arrangement and electronic properties of the molecules on the Au(111) surface have been deeply explored by non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM), bond-resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy (BR-STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our combined experiments reveal modifications induced by sulphur substitution.