The field of on-surface synthesis has seen a tremendous development in the past decade
as an exciting new methodology towards atomically well-defined nanostructures. A strong
driving force in this respect is its inherent compatibility with scanning probe techniques,
which allows one to ‘view’ the reactants and products at the single-molecule level.
In this article, we review the ability of noncontact atomic force microscopy to study
on-surface chemical reactions with atomic precision. We highlight recent advances
in using noncontact atomic force microscopy to obtain mechanistic insight into reactions
and focus on the recently elaborated mechanisms in the formation of different types
of graphene nanoribbons.
Key words
on-surface synthesis - atomic force microscopy - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- graphene nanoribbons - single molecule
