Guillaume Povie, Yasutomo Segawa, Taishi Nishihara, Yuhei Miyauchi, Kenichiro Itami

Science 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aam8158

The synthesis of a carbon nanobelt, comprising a closed loop of fully fused benzene rings, has been an elusive goal in organic chemistry for more than 60 years. Here we report the first synthesis of a carbon nanobelt through iterative Wittig reactions followed by a nickel-mediated homocoupling reaction. The cylindrical shape of the nanobelt was unambiguously confirmed by X-ray crystallography, and its fundamental optoelectronic properties were elucidated by UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopic studies. This molecule could potentially serve as a seed for the preparation of structurally well-defined carbon nanotubes.

The memorial photo just after we confirm the structure by X-ray analysis. (from left to right) Itami, Segawa, Povie.