On-surface synthesis of gold-coronene molecular wires

Perchlorocoronene undergoes random dehalogenation at elevated temperatures, resulting in the formation of disordered gold-coronene complex on Au(111) surfaces. The dehalogenation can be guided by introducing intermolecular constraint from accompanying molecules coexisting on the surface. Owing to the intermolecular electrostatic interactions, gold-coronene wires are intercalated between the polyphenylene chains, which hinder the transverse dehalogenation and result in the improved tendency toward linear gold-coronene molecular wires.