Gover, RKE, Chamberlain, TW orcid.org/0000-0001-8100-6452, Sarre, PJ et al. (1 more author) (2021) Piecing together large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fullerenes: A combined ChemTEM imaging and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry approach. Frontiers in Chemistry, 9. 700562. ISSN 2296-2646
Abstract
Motivated by their importance in chemistry, physics, astronomy and materials science, we investigate routes to the formation of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules and the fullerene C60 from specific smaller PAH building blocks. The behaviour of selected PAH molecules under electron (using transmission electron microscopy, TEM) and laser irradiation is examined, where four specific PAHs—anthracene, pyrene, perylene and coronene—are assembling into larger structures and fullerenes. This contrasts with earlier TEM studies in which large graphene flakes were shown to transform into fullerenes via a top-down route. A new combined approach is presented in which spectrometric and microscopic experimental techniques exploit the stabilisation of adsorbed molecules through supramolecular interactions with a graphene substrate and enable the molecules to be characterised and irradiated sequentially. Thereby allowing initiation of transformation and characterisation of the resultant species by both mass spectrometry and direct-space imaging. We investigate the types of large PAH molecule that can form from smaller PAHs, and discuss the potential of a “bottom-up” followed by “top-down” mechanism for forming C60.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Gover, Chamberlain, Sarre and Khlobystov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Keywords: | PAH, fullerene, chemTEM, self-assembly, bottom-up |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Inorganic Chemistry (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R032807/1 EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/T024488/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 May 2021 11:48 |
Last Modified: | 14 Sep 2023 08:42 |
Published Version: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fchem.2021.700562 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174645 |