Synthesis and electronic structure of bisanthene: A small molecular-sized graphene with zigzag edges

The electronic structure of bisanthene has been considered as a bottom-up approach to provide experimental evidence for the edge-state in graphene ribbons. After several steps of chemical reactions and following recrystallization, bisanthene and its tert-butyl group substituted derivative were obtained as crystals. Physical measurements demonstrated no appreciable open-shell electronic structure, while chemical reactivity toward oxygen suggested the possibility of the presence of the spin-polarized electronic state at meso-positions.