In our laboratory, we are exploring new approaches to initiate chemical reactions of organic species on surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. In fact, in the on-surface synthesis approach, the most used chemical reaction to create covalent bonds between the organic building blocks is the dehalogenative aryl-aryl coupling (aka Ullmann coupling), which relies on the thermal activation of aryl halides on metal surfaces. However, there are many other reactions that could be used, which can also occur on different substrates and be triggered by different stimuli, as for instance light irradiation. We recently started to investigate the on-surface photoreactivity of prototypical anhydrides on semiconducting substrates, initiated by UV light irradiation. This approach entails major advantages, as the occurrence at room temperature and the achievement of desired nanostructures on substrates other than metals, thus exploiting the electronic properties of the organic layer without need of intercalation or transfer processes.

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