Description:

Above is an image of the sequence of steps by which an STM probe can (a) dissociate a C₆H₅I molecule on a terrace; (b and c) draw the iodine atom away; (d) pull one C₆H₅ (phenyl) molecule toward another; (e) weld them together; (f) pull one phenyl to confirm the association.  This is an important step towards the assembly of individual molecules out of simple building blocks in situ on the atomic scale.

In summary, the making of C₁₂H₁₀ molecules from C₆H₅I molecules, normally carried out on a copper catalyst and using thermal activation (a process chemists call the Ullmann reaction), has here been forced to proceed by employing one molecule at a time at a cryogenic temperature of 20 K. The researchers believe that new manmade molecules, never before seen in nature, can be engineered in this way, including the selective detachment or replacement of parts of larger molecules for individual assembling of molecular based nano-devices.

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