Fig. 3: Schematic depiction of two possible nanoribbon initiation pathways from PAH-derived seeds. Here, graphene is in blue and PTCDA molecule is in purple (carbon) and red (oxygen).
From: Graphene nanoribbons initiated from molecularly derived seeds
a Individual PAH molecules or fragments of PAH molecules grow relatively isotropically from CH4 to a critical size before anisotropic nanoribbon evolution begins. b Multiple PAH molecules or fragments of PAH molecules cluster to form seeds that are effectively larger in size (e.g., 1.7 nm for PTCDA, based on Fig. 2 data) that then initiate the anisotropic growth of nanoribbons.
