A Review of On-Surface Synthesis and Characterization of Macrocycles

Macrocyclic organic nanostructures have emerged as crucial components of functional supramolecular materials owing to their unique structural and chemical features, such as their distinctive "infinite" cyclic topology and tunable topology-dependent properties, attracting significant recent attention. However, the controlled synthesis of macrocyclic compounds with well-defined compositions and geometries remains a formidable challenge. On-surface synthesis, capable of constructing nanostructures with atomic precision on various substrates, has become a frontier technique for exploring novel macrocyclic architectures. This review summarizes the recent advances in the on-surface synthesis of macrocycles. It focuses on analyzing the synthetic mechanisms and conformational characterization of macrocycles formed through diverse bonding interactions, including both covalent and non-covalent linkages. This review elucidates the intricate interplay between the thermodynamic and kinetic factors governing macrocyclic structure formation across these bonding types and clarifies the critical influence of the reaction temperature and external conditions on the cyclization efficiency. Ultimately, this study offers design strategies for the precise on-surface synthesis of larger and more flexible macrocyclic compounds.