title: Substrate-Independent Growth of Atomically Precise Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons.
abstract: Contributing to the need for new graphene nanoribbon (GNR) structures that can be synthesized with atomic precision, we have designed a reactant that renders chiral (3,1)-GNRs after a multistep reaction including Ullmann coupling and cyclodehydrogenation. The nanoribbon synthesis has been successfully proven on different coinage metals, and the formation process, together with the fingerprints associated with each reaction step, has been studied by combining scanning tunneling microscopy, core-level spectroscopy, and density functional calculations. In addition to the GNR's chiral edge structure, the substantial GNR lengths achieved and the low processing temperature required to complete the reaction grant this reactant extremely interesting properties for potential applications.
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science , 48011 Bilbao, Spain.|Materials Physics Center, Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC/UPV-EHU) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Dimas G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: de Oteyza
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science , 48011 Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Aran
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García-Lekue
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS) and Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela , 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vilas-Varela
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|CIC nanoGUNE , Avenida de Tolosa 76, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Néstor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Merino-Díez
authors.affiliation: CIC nanoGUNE , Avenida de Tolosa 76, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carbonell-Sanromà
authors.affiliation: Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science , 48011 Bilbao, Spain.|Materials Physics Center, Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC/UPV-EHU) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|CIC nanoGUNE , Avenida de Tolosa 76, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corso
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Materials Physics Center, Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC/UPV-EHU) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vasseur
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Materials Physics Center, Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC/UPV-EHU) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rogero
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS) and Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela , 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guitián
authors.affiliation: Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science , 48011 Bilbao, Spain.|CIC nanoGUNE , Avenida de Tolosa 76, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.affiliation: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Materials Physics Center, Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC/UPV-EHU) , Paseo Manuel Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.|Departamento de Física Aplicada I, Universidad del País Vasco , 20018 San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: J Enrique
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: International Center of Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science , 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wakayama
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS) and Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela , 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peña
keywords: Ullmann coupling; core-level photoemission; cyclodehydrogenation; density functional theory; on-surface synthesis; scanning tunneling microscopy