On-surface synthesis is appearing as an extremely promising strategy to create organic nanoarchitectures with atomic precision. Molecular building blocks holding adequate functional groups are dosed onto surfaces that support or even drive their covalent linkage. The surface confinement and the frequent lack of solvents (most commonly being performed under vacuum conditions) create a completely new scenario fully complementary to conventional chemistry. 

In a pedagogical way and based on the most recent developments, this volume presents our current understanding in the field, addressing fundamental reaction mechanisms, synthetic strategies to influence the reactions according to our needs, as well as the ultimate growth and characterization of functional materials.

Verging on chemistry, physics and materials science, the book is aimed at students and researchers interested in nanochemistry, surface science, supramolecular materials and molecular devices.

Chapters "Mechanistic insights into surface-supported chemical reactions", "Reactivity on and of Graphene Layers: Scanning Probe Microscopy Reviels" and "Bottom-up fabrication of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons" of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Dimas G. de Oteyza performed his PhD studies at the Max-Planck Institute for Metals Research and obtained the degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2007. Thereafter he has worked at the National Institute for Materials Science, at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), at the Molecular Foundry of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, at the University of California at Berkeley and at the Centro de Física de Materiales. He is currently an Ikerbasque Research Professor at DIPC. The research throughout his career has been mainly devoted to the investigation of physicochemical phenomena in organic materials and organic-inorganic interfaces, including thin film growth, self-assembly, interface electronics and chemical reactions. He has received honors like the Fonda Fasella Award, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award and an ERC Starting Grant with the objective to study and advance the field of on-surface synthesis. 

Dr. Rogero obtainedher PhD degree in 2003 at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, receiving the PhD Special Award from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid as well as the Award from the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain (2003-2004) for the best thesis in the section of Experimental and Technological Sciences. After this period, she worked at the Department of Chemistry at the Newcastle upon Tyne University and at the Astrobiology Center in Madrid. Since October 2009, she is Tenured Scientist at the Spanish Research Council CSIC, working at the Centro de Física de Materiales  in San Sebastian. Her research expertise is in the field of experimental Surface Science Physics and her main research lines have been always related to the structural and electronic characterization of both purely inorganic as well as organic-inorganic metal-semiconductor (insulator) interfaces.

Preface.- Mechanistic insights into surface-supported chemical reactions.- Kinetic and thermodynamic considerations in on-surface synthesis.- Heat or light? Tools of choice for on-surface synthesis.- Reactivity on and of graphitic substrates at the liquid-solid interface: scanning probe microscopy reveals.- C-H activation as a generic route for on-surface synthesis of complex macromolecules.- Dehydrogenative and dehalogenative homocoupling reactions of C-X groups on metal surfaces.- On-surface Ullmann reaction for the synthesis of macrocycles and polymers.- Bottom-up fabrication of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons.- Aryl-aryl covalent coupling on rutile TiO2 surfaces.- On-surface synthesis of 2D networks: from graphene-like to graphyne-like networks.- Cu- and Pd-catalyzed on-surface coupling reactions.- nc-AFM to Address Long-Standing Chemical Challenges.