Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

A Free‐Radical Prompted Barrierless Gas‐Phase Synthesis of Pentacene

Abstract

A representative, low-temperature gas-phase reaction mechanism synthesizing polyacenes via ring annulation exemplified by the formation of pentacene (C22 H14 ) along with its benzo[a]tetracene isomer (C22 H14 ) is unraveled by probing the elementary reaction of the 2-tetracenyl radical (C18 H11 . ) with vinylacetylene (C4 H4 ). The pathway to pentacene-a prototype polyacene and a fundamental molecular building block in graphenes, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes-is facilitated by a barrierless, vinylacetylene mediated gas-phase process thus disputing conventional hypotheses that synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) solely proceeds at elevated temperatures. This low-temperature pathway can launch isomer-selective routes to aromatic structures through submerged reaction barriers, resonantly stabilized free-radical intermediates, and methodical ring annulation in deep space eventually changing our perception about the chemistry of carbon in our universe.

Main Content
For improved accessibility of PDF content, download the file to your device.
Current View