Gold's enigmatic surface

摘要

Carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions are used to make molecules that have specific structures and properties, such as polymers. Particularly challenging is the use of saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes) as starting materials for these reactions, because strong carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds in the molecules must first be broken. Harsh reaction conditions are often required to do this, but in general such conditions make it difficult to break a specific C-H bond and thereby selectively control where in the molecule carbon-carbon bond formation occurs. Writing in Science, Zhong et al.' report that the adsorption of alkanes on a gold surface changes the structure of one-dimensional channels in the metal. These channels direct the polymerization of the alkanes, so that carbon-carbon bonds form only at, or close to, the ends of the molecules.