We present an in-depth investigation regarding the electron-accepting nature of pressure-synthesized carbon nanodots (pCNDs) in combination with porphyrins as excited-state electron donors. To this end, electrostatic attractions involving negative charges, which are present on the pCND surface, are essential to govern the hybrid assembly, on one hand, and charge separation, on the other hand.

Singular reaction events of small molecules and their dynamics remain a hardly understood territory in chemical sciences since spectroscopy relies on ensemble-averaged data, and microscopic scanning probe techniques show snapshots of frozen scenes. Herein, we report on continuous high-resolution transmission electron microscopic video imaging of the electron-beam-induced bottom-up synthesis of fullerene C 60 through cyclodehydrogenation of tailor-made truxene derivative 1 (C 60 H 30 ), which was deposited on graphene as substrate. During the reaction, C 60 H 30 transformed in a multistep process to fullerene C 60 . Hereby, the precursor, metastable intermediates, and the product were identified by correlations with electron dose-corrected molecular simulations and singlemolecule statistical analysis, which were substantiated with extensive density functional theory calculations. Our observations revealed that the initial cyclodehydrogenation pathway leads to thermodynamically favored intermediates through seemingly classical organic reaction mechanisms. However, dynamic interactions of the intermediates with the substrate render graphene as a non-innocent participant in the dehydrogenation process, which leads to a deviation from the classical reaction pathway. Our precise visual comprehension of the dynamic transformation implies that the outcome of electron-beam-initiated reactions can be controlled with careful molecular precursor design, which is important for the development and design of materials by electron beam lithography.

Methods for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles containing hexaphenylbenzene moieties at the 2- and 5-positions or the 1- and 4-positions have been developed. It was shown that placing a hexaphenylbenzene moiety at the 2- and 5-positions requires a Diels–Alder reaction between an alkyne-substituted pyrrolopyrrole core and a 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylcyclopenta-2,4-dien-1-one. The resulting dyes show a strong blue fluorescence that was hypsochromically shifted by chlorination at the 3- and 6-positions. The overall conjugation between the hexaphenylbenzene moieties and the pyrrolopyrrole core is limited, as evident from their photophysical properties. The hexaphenylbenzene moieties attached to the pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole core could not be transformed into hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes through intramolecular oxidative aromatic coupling.

The strategy for the synthesis of hexaarylbenzenes avoids regioisomeric product distributions.