title: On-surface synthesis of cyclic organic molecules.
abstract: Creating or connecting together large organic molecules, as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), by chemical reactions readily on surfaces is the first step to a true advance in the field of molecular electronics. On-surface synthesis can be regarded as an efficient means to build new molecular species by using bottom-up strategies. Recently, a collection of different reactions leading to large tailor-made organic molecules on single-crystal metal surfaces has been reported. The fundamental mechanisms controlling these reactions can be investigated from a surface science perspective. This discipline skillfully combines the use of characterization techniques at the nanoscale, with single-crystal metallic surfaces able to catalyse these reactions. We present a tutorial review that highlights the relevance of the new bottom up strategies and classifies most of the different molecular on-surface reactions involving aromatic organic molecules that have been published up to date.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), C/ Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: M Francisca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martín-Gago
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D053758:Nanoparticles; D055601:Organic Chemistry Phenomena; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic