Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are one-dimensional structures described as stripes of graphene. Their edges are responsible for new electronic states compared to those of graphene such as a band gap opening, contrary to the zero-band gap graphene. Since GNRs’ structure is closely related to their electronic and optical properties and their band gap is inversely proportional to their width, it becomes essential to produce narrow and edge-controlled GNRs. Narrow GNRs can be grown by bottom-up procedures using small molecules as building blocks. One of these techniques consists of using the inert inner environment of the nanotube to grow GNRs whose width is determined by the nanotube diameter.

Here I will talk about our findings of a new precursor, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, to produce GNRs inside carbon and boron nitride nanotubes [1,2]. This material is a liquid at room temperature which facilitates both the encapsulation and the removal of the excess molecules adsorbed on the nanotube walls by evaporation. Molecules encapsulated in carbon and boron nitride nanotubes were subjected to thermal annealing and the products were characterized by conventional and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy that revealed GNR formation.

[1] A. Cadena et al. , J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 13, 9752—9758 (2022)

[2] A. Cadena et al. , Phys. Status Solidi-Rapid Res. Lett. 17, 2200284—1—5 (2023)

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