On‐surface synthesis and characterization of triply fused porphyrin–graphene nanoribbon hybrids

On‐surface synthesis offers a versatile approach to prepare novel carbon‐based nanostructures that cannot be obtained by conventional solution chemistry. Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have potential for a variety of applications. A key issue for their application in molecular electronics is in the fine‐tuning of their electronic properties through structural modifications, such as heteroatom doping or the incorporation of non‐benzenoid rings.
In this record we provide data to support our recent publication that reports the covalent fusion of grapnene nanoribbons (GNRs) and porphyrins (Pors). We demonstrated selective on‐surface synthesis of a Por–GNR hybrid, which consists of two Pors connected by a short GNR segment. The atomically precise structure of the Por–GNR hybrid has been characterized by bond‐resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy. The electronic properties have been investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, in combination with DFT calculations, which reveals a low electronic gap of 0.4 eV