Sánchez Grande, AnaDe la Torre, BrunoSantos, JoséCirera, BorjaLauwaet, KoenChutora, TarasEdalatmanesh, ShayanRosen, JohannaZboril, RadekMiranda, RodolfoBjörk, JonasJelínek, PavelMartín, NazarioEcija, David2023-06-172023-06-172019-051433-785110.1002/anie.201814154https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/13868Engineering low-band-gap p-conjugated polymers is a growing area in basic and applied research. The main synthetic challenge lies in the solubility of the starting materials, which precludes advancements in the field. Here, we report an on-surface synthesis protocol to overcome such difficulties and produce poly(p-anthracene ethynylene) molecular wires on Au(111). To this aim, a quinoid anthracene precursor with =CBr2 moieties is deposited and annealed to 400 K, resulting in anthracene-based polymers. High-resolution nc-AFM measurements confirm the nature of the ethynylene-bridge bond between the anthracene moieties. Theoretical simulations illustrate the mechanism of the chemical reaction, highlighting three major steps: dehalogenation, diffusion of surface-stabilized carbenes, and homocoupling, which enables the formation of an ethynylene bridge. Our results introduce a novel chemical protocol to design p-conjugated polymers based on oligoacene precursors and pave new avenues for advancing the emerging field of on-surface synthesis.engjournal articlehttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anie.201814154open access547Aceneslow-band-gap semiconductorspolymersscanning probe microscopysurface chemistryQuímica orgánica (Química)2306 Química Orgánica