On-surface photopolymerization of two-dimensional polymers ordered on the mesoscale
L. Grossmann, B. T. King, S. Reichlmaier, N. Hartmann, J. Rosen, W. M. Heckl, J. Björk and M. Lackinger
Nature Chemistry, 13, 730 (2021)
The use of solid supports and ultra-high vacuum conditions for the synthesis of two-dimensional polymers is attractive, as it can enable thorough characterization, often with submolecular resolution, and prevent contamination. However, most on-surface polymerizations are thermally activated, which often leads to high defect densities and relatively small domain sizes. Here, we have obtained a porous two-dimensional polymer that is ordered on the mesoscale by the two-staged topochemical photopolymerization of fluorinated anthracene triptycene (fantrip) monomers on alkane-passivated graphite surfaces under ultra-high vacuum. First, the fantrip monomers self-assemble into highly ordered monolayer structures, where all anthracene moieties adopt a suitable arrangement for photopolymerization. Irradiation with violet light then induces complete covalent crosslinking by [4+4] photocycloaddition to form a two-dimensional polymer, while fully preserving the long-range order of the self-assembled structure. The extent of the polymerization is confirmed by local infrared spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy characterization, in agreement with density functional theory calculations, which also gives mechanistic insights.