On-Surface Synthesis of Heptacene on Ag(001) from Brominated and Non-Brominated Tetrahydroheptacene Precursors

Achieving the Ag(001)-supported synthesis of heptacene from two related reactants reveals the effect of the presence of Br atoms on the reaction process. The properties of reactant, intermediates and end-product are further characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy.