Cyclophane-based shielding strategy for singly dispersed graphene nanoribbons

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Jin Jiang Zhang - , Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Chair of Molecular Functional Materials (cfaed), Max Planck Institute of Micostructure Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University (Author)
  • Jian Zhang - , National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (Author)
  • Guanzhao Wen - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Silvio Osella - , University of Warsaw (Author)
  • Zhenlin Qiu - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Steffen Böckmann - , University of Münster (Author)
  • Xu Wang - , Sichuan University (Author)
  • Britta Maib - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Yubin Fu - , Max Planck Institute of Micostructure Physics (Author)
  • Xiuling Yu - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Michael Ryan Hansen - , University of Münster (Author)
  • Janina Maultzsch - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Michel Calame - , Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), University of Basel (Author)
  • Mickael L. Perrin - , Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), ETH Zurich (Author)
  • Hai I. Wang - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Utrecht University (Author)
  • Mischa Bonn - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Ji Ma - , CAS - Institute of Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) (Author)
  • Klaus Müllen - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Xinliang Feng - , Chair of Molecular Functional Materials (gB MPI-MSP), Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Max Planck Institute of Micostructure Physics (Author)

Abstract

Structurally precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) hold great promise for nanoelectronic devices owing to their tunable bandgaps and unique electronic properties. However, their practical integration into single-ribbon devices remains impeded by strong inter-ribbon aggregation. Here we introduce a cyclophane-based shielding strategy that not only sterically protects the GNR backbone but also imparts internal strain, enabling singly dispersed GNRs while simultaneously modulating their optoelectronic properties, as demonstrated by the synthesis and investigation of three cyclophane-shielded GNRs 1a–c and model nanographenes with varying cyclic chain lengths. Terahertz spectroscopy reveals a marked increase in short-range charge carrier mobility—from 190 to 330 cm2V−1s−1 —as the chain length shortens, attributed to both reduced effective mass and increased scattering time. The resulting singly dispersed cyclophane-shielded GNRs enable the fabrication of single-electron transistors showing a clear Coulomb blockade behaviour at low temperatures. This work provides a generalizable strategy for engineering solution-processable GNRs compatible with quantum device applications. (Figure presented.)

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature chemistry
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - Jun 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords