Highly selective synthesis of Kagome-honeycomb assembled lattice composed of N-doped macrocycles on surfaces

Regarded as a superposition of the Kagome and the honeycomb lattice, the Kagome-honeycomb lattice potentially inherits the exotic electronic band structures of both sublattices, such as topologically nontrivial flat bands and linearly dispersing bands. Due to these unique band structures, the Kagome-honeycomb lattice may serve as a versatile platform for exploring various exotic physical phenomena, including the quantum anomalous Hall effect, tunable superconductivity, and (anti-)ferromagnetism. However, current research on Kagome-honeycomb lattices remains limited, only a few studies have constructed such lattices through hydrogen bonding or π-π interactions. Achieving large-area and well-ordered Kagome-honeycomb lattices remains a significant challenge.

The research groups led by Professor Junfa Zhu from University of Science and Technology of China, Dr. Honghe Ding, and Professor Dezhou Guo from Beijing Institute of Technology collaboratively reported the construction of a novel Kagome-honeycomb crystalline film on the Ag(111) substrate. The lattice is composed of nitrogen-doped macrocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons assembled through π-π interactions, with an average domain size exceeding 250 × 250 nm².

This achievement is attributed to the highly selective formation of macrocycles and the exceptional stability of the assembled lattice. The remarkable selectivity arises from thermodynamically driven macrocyclization and the efficient organometallic template effect (the steric repulsion between precursor molecules renders the chain-growth pathway energetically unfavorable). Furthermore, the steric hindrance induced by close-packed assemblies preserves the structural integrity throughout the stepwise desilverization. By incorporating scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), high-resolution synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the authors elucidate the reaction pathway at an atomic level and provide thermodynamic insights to guide the high-quality synthesis of the products. This work offers a new platform for exploring the physical and topological properties of Kagome-honeycomb lattices. Moreover, the successful synthesis of pentameric macrocycles containing [15]annulene pores offers new perspectives for constructing low-dimensional carbon nanostructures with nonplanar pores on surfaces.

The article was published in Nano Research on June 20, 2025.

Other contributors include Lei Hu, Tianchen Qin, Baiyao Liang, Yating Zhang, Weishan Yang, Jun Hu, Qian Xu from the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory at University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, China; and Tian Ma from the State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Safety Protection at Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China.

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2024YFA1208102), National Natural Science Foundation of China (22272157, 21872131, U2430203), Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB1180000), and State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Safety Protection (Grant QKKT25-01).

About the Authors

Prof. Junfa Zhu is a chair professor at University of Science and Technology of China. He serves as an editor of the international journal Surface Science Reports, and as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Surface Science and Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica. He also serves as the vice-chair of the International Conference on the Structure of Surfaces (ICOSS) and a consultant for the Jiangsu Provincial Nano Industry Strategic Advisory Committee. His research interests focus on the interfacial physical chemistry of functional materials, energy storage materials and devices, as well as synchrotron radiation applications. He has authored over 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals with an H-index of 104. From 2019 to 2023, he was consecutively recognized as a Clarivate “Highly Cited Researcher.” More information can be found in his research homepage http://surfchem.ustc.edu.cn

Prof. Dezhou Guo is a full professor at Beijing Institute of Technology. His research focuses on first-principles computational methods, including quantum mechanics, density functional theory (DFT), and molecular dynamics, integrated with experimental techniques. His work spans a wide range of topics, such as the detonation performance and stability of energetic materials, phase transitions in ultrahard ceramic materials, bottom-up on-surface molecular synthesis, and carbon dioxide adsorption. He has published extensively as the first or corresponding author in high-impact journals including Physical Review Letters, Science Advances, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition. He has received several prestigious awards, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas) and the “TeLi Young Scholar” Talent Support Program at Beijing Institute of Technology.

Dr. Ding Honghe is a senior research engineer at University of Science and Technology of China. He has extensive experience in the design and development of synchrotron radiation instruments and applications to research in energy, catalysis, and functional materials. His current research focuses on the advanced applications of synchrotron spectroscopy techniques to energy conversion materials, particularly exploring the correlation between interfacial electronic structure and material performance. Dr. Ding is committed to elucidating the fundamental physical and chemical principles underlying energy conversion processes at the atomic scale. In recent years, he has published as first author or co-corresponding author in leading journals such as Nano Letters, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, and ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

About Nano Research

Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.