Single-Atom Protecting Group for on-Surface Synthesis of Graphdiyne Nanowires

On-surface synthesis of semiconducting graphdiyne nanowires usually su er severe side re- actions owing to the high reactivity of the butadiynylene units at noble metal surfaces, limiting the production of isolated nanowires. In this work, we report the high-yield synthesis of branchless graphdiyne nanowires [-C≡C-Ph2-C≡C-]n via on-surface Ullmann coupling of 1,4-bis(4-bromophenyl)-1,3-butadiyne molecules with chemical vapor deposition method. Non-contact atomic force microscopy with single-bond resolution reveals that single gold adatoms act as e ective protecting groups for butadiynylene units by forming Au-π ligand bonds, preventing unwanted branched coupling reactions and enabling the synthesis of ultralong isolated graphdiyne nanowires. This study will stimulate further investigation on the role of various surface adatoms in protecting on-surface reactions.

Epitaxial growth of highly strained antimonene on Ag（111）

The synthesis of antimonene, which is a promising group-V 2D material for both fundamental studies and technological applications, remains highly challenging. Thus far, it has been synthesized only by exfoliation or growth on a few substrates. In this study, we show that thin layers of antimonene can be grown on Ag（111） by molecular beam epitaxy. High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy combined with theoretical calculations revealed that the submonolayer Sb deposited on a Ag（111） surface forms a layer of AgSb2 surface alloy upon annealing. Further deposition of Sb on the AgSb2 surface alloy causes an epitaxial layer of Sb to form, which is identified as antimonene with a buckled honeycomb structure. More interestingly, the lattice constant of the epitaxial antimonene （5 /-） is much larger than that of freestanding antimonene, indicating a high tensile strain of more than 20%. This kind of large strain is expected to make the antimonene a highly promising candidate for room- temperature quantum spin Hall material.

Observation of pseudogap in SnSe2 atomic layers grown on graphite

Superconducting metal dichalcogenides(MDCs)present several similarities to the other layered SI1-perconductors like cuprates.The superconductivity in atomically thin MDCs has been demonstrated by recent experiments,however,the investigation of the superconductivity intertwined with other or-ders are scarce.Investigating the pseudogap in atomic layers of MDCs may help to understand the superconducting mechanism for these true two dimensional(2D)superconducting systemns.Herein we report a pseudogap opening in the tunneling spectra of thin layers of SnSe2 epitaxially grown on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG)with scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy(STM/STS).A significant V-shaped pseudogap was observed to open near the Fermi level(Er)in the sTS.And at elevated temperatures,the gap gradually evolves to a shallow dip.Our experimental observations provide direct evidence of a pseudogap state in the electron-doped SnSe2 atomic layers on the HOPG surface,which may stimulate further exploration of the mechanism of superconductivity at 2D limit in MDCs.