Scalable Synthesis and Characterization of Multilayer γ-Graphyne, New Carbon Crystals with a Small Direct Band Gap

γ-Graphyne is the most symmetric sp2/sp1 allotrope of carbon, which can be viewed as graphene uniformly expanded through the insertion of two-carbon acetylenic units between all the aromatic rings. To date, synthesis of bulk γ-graphyne has remained a challenge. We here report the synthesis of multilayer γ-graphyne through crystallization-assisted irreversible cross-coupling polymerization. A comprehensive characterization of this new carbon phase is described, including synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, lateral force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Experiments indicate that γ-graphyne is a 0.48 eV band gap semiconductor, with a hexagonal a-axis spacing of 6.88 Å and an interlayer spacing of 3.48 Å, which is consistent with theoretical predictions. The observed crystal structure has an aperiodic sheet stacking. The material is thermally stable up to 240 °C but undergoes transformation at higher temperatures. While conventional 2D polymerization and reticular chemistry rely on error correction through reversibility, we demonstrate that a periodic covalent lattice can be synthesized under purely kinetic control. The reported methodology is scalable and inspires extension to other allotropes of the graphyne family.