Structural and electronic properties of extremely long perylene bisimide nanofibers formed through a stoichiometrically mismatched, hydrogen-bonded complexation

Small. 2010 Dec 6;6(23):2731-40. doi: 10.1002/smll.201001344.

Abstract

Extremely long nanofibers, whose lengths reach the millimeter regime, are generated via co-aggregation of a melamine-appended perylene bisimide semiconductor and a substituted cyanurate, both of which are ditopic triple-hydrogen-bonding building blocks; they co-aggregate in an unexpected stoichiometrically mismatched 1:2 ratio. Various microscopic and X-ray diffraction studies suggest that hydrogen-bonded polymeric chains are formed along the long axis of the nanofibers by the 1:2 complexation of the two components, which further stack along the short axis of the nanofibers. The photocarrier generation mechanism in the nanofibers is investigated by time-of-flight (TOF) experiments under electric and magnetic fields, revealing the birth and efficient recombination of singlet geminate electron-hole pairs. Flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity (FP-TRMC) measurements revealed intrinsic 1D electron mobilities up to 0.6 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) within nanofibers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Imides / chemistry*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nanofibers / chemistry*
  • Perylene / analogs & derivatives*
  • Perylene / chemistry
  • Semiconductors

Substances

  • Imides
  • perylene bisimide
  • Perylene