image: From left to right, precursor molecule C24O6, intermediates C22O4 and C20O2 and the final product cyclo[18]carbon C18 created on surface by dissociating CO masking groups using atom manipulation. The bottom row shows atomic force microscopy (AFM) data using a CO functionalized tip. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the August 16, 2019, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by K. Kaiser at IBM Research-Zurich in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, and colleagues was titled, "An sp-hybridized molecular carbon allotrope, cyclo[18]carbon." view more
Credit: IBM Research