Diffusion-controlled on-surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbon heterojunctions.

We report a new diffusion-controlled on-surface synthesis approach for graphene nanoribbons (GNR) consisting of two types of precursor molecules, which exploits distinct differences in the surface mobilities of the precursors. This approach is a step towards a more controlled fabrication of complex GNR heterostructures and should be applicable to the on-surface synthesis of a variety of GNR heterojunctions.