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An Atomic-Scale View of Cyclocarbon Synthesis
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An Atomic-Scale View of Cyclocarbon Synthesis

Combining organic synthesis with microscopy addresses long-standing bottlenecks in cyclocarbon production.

Sabine Maier
Science, 2019
References: Kaiser et al. (2019) , Kroto et al. (1985)
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8

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  • Innovative
  • Scientific
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

If you think microscopy is not useful to organic chemists, think again! A physics research group led by Professor Sabine Maier demonstrates how microscopy can be used to make and study fascinating carbon-based materials. The fact that there are different ways to combine carbon atoms means that it’s possible to create a variety of materials with unusual properties entirely from carbon. Anyone interested in the field of materials science will find this article intriguing and inspiring.

Take-Aways

  • Scientists can arrange carbon atoms into intricate scaffolds to make a range of materials that display unusual properties.
  • Recent developments in microscopy have helped overcome challenges in the study of cyclo[n]carbons.
  • A new “on-surface” approach allows scientists to make and study new carbon-based materials in a controlled manner.

About the Author

Sabine Maier is a professor of physics at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, where she leads a research team that focuses on using scanning probe microscopy to study materials at the molecular level.

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