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Abstract The molecular carbon allotropes have an enduring attraction to chemists and physicists for their elusive structures and extraordinary properties. Cyclo16carbon has been produced on the surface and is well characterized, while, it is interesting that molecular carbon allotrope, like C16, referring to molecules composed of 16 carbon atoms, presents a fascinating realm of isomeric possibilities. Except for cyclo16carbon, C16 isomers with other structures have been only predicted by theory. Here, we report the synthesis and structural characterization of a graphene-shaped isomer, i.e., C16 flake on a bilayer NaCl surface grown on Au(111), using an atom-manipulation strategy by eliminating chlorine from a fully chlorinated pyrene molecule, C16Cl10. Characterization of such a C16 flake by bond-resolved atomic force microscopy revealed an sp- and sp2-hybridized structure.
Xu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.