On-Surface Synthesis of Polyphenylene Wires Comprising Rigid Aliphatic Bicyclo[1.1.1]Pentane Isolator Units

Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) motifs are of growing importance to the pharmaceutical industry as sp³-rich bioisosteres of benzene rings and as molecular building blocks in materials science. Herein we explore the behavior of 1,3-disubstituted BCP moieties on metal surfaces by combining low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy / non-contact atomic force microscopy studies with density functional theory modeling. We examine the configuration of individual BCP-containing precursors on Au(111), their supramolecular assembly and thermally activated dehalogenative coupling reactions, affording polymeric chains with incorporated electronically isolating units. Our studies not only provide the first sub-molecular insights of the BCP scaffold behavior on surfaces, but also extend the potential application of BCP derivatives towards integration in custom-designed surface architectures.