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Whittaker SJ, Zhou H, Spencer RB, Yang Y, Tiwari A, Bendesky J, McDowell M, Sundaram P, Lozano I, Kim S, An Z, Shtukenberg AG, Kahr B, Lee SS. Leveling up Organic Semiconductors with Crystal Twisting. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2024; 24:613-626. [PMID: 38250542 PMCID: PMC10797633 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
The performance of crystalline organic semiconductors depends on the solid-state structure, especially the orientation of the conjugated components with respect to device platforms. Often, crystals can be engineered by modifying chromophore substituents through synthesis. Meanwhile, dissymetry is necessary for high-tech applications like chiral sensing, optical telecommunications, and data storage. The synthesis of dissymmetric molecules is a labor-intensive exercise that might be undermined because common processing methods offer little control over orientation. Crystal twisting has emerged as a generalizable method for processing organic semiconductors and offers unique advantages, such as patterning of physical and chemical properties and chirality that arises from mesoscale twisting. The precession of crystal orientations can enrich performance because achiral molecules in achiral space groups suddenly become candidates for the aforementioned technologies that require dissymetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- St. John Whittaker
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Hengyu Zhou
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Rochelle B. Spencer
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Yongfan Yang
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Akash Tiwari
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Justin Bendesky
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Merritt McDowell
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Pallavi Sundaram
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Idalys Lozano
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Shin Kim
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Zhihua An
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Alexander G. Shtukenberg
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Bart Kahr
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Stephanie S. Lee
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
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Albano G, Aronica LA, Pescitelli G, Di Bari L. Chiral diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-based oligothiophenes: Synthesis and characterization of aggregated states in solution and thin films. Chirality 2024; 36:e23608. [PMID: 37424264 DOI: 10.1002/chir.23608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we synthesized a family of three structurally related chiral oligothiophenes containing a 1,4-diketo-3,6-diarylpyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole (DPP) unit as the central core; functionalized with the same (S)-3,7-dimethyl-1-octyl chains on the nitrogen atoms of lactam moieties, they only differ in the number of lateral thiophene units. The aggregation modes of these π-conjugated chiral systems were evaluated by means of UV-Vis absorption and ECD spectroscopies in conditions of solution aggregation (CHCl3 /MeOH mixtures) and as thin films, describing in particular the impact of the π-conjugation length on the chiroptical properties. Interestingly, we found that the variable number of thiophene units attached to the DPP core affects not only the propensity to aggregation but also the aggregates' helicity. ECD revealed information about the supramolecular arrangement of these molecules, that one would not obtain by using conventional optical spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. Thin film samples revealed very different aggregation modes with respect to solution aggregates, casting doubts on the common assumption that these latter may serve as simple models of the former ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluigi Albano
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Gennaro Pescitelli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Di Bari
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Albano G, Taddeucci A, Pescitelli G, Di Bari L. Spatially Resolved Chiroptical Spectroscopies Emphasizing Recent Applications to Thin Films of Chiral Organic Dyes. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202301982. [PMID: 37515814 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202301982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Instrumental techniques able to identify and structurally characterize the aggregation states in thin films of chiral organic π-conjugated materials, from the first-order supramolecular arrangement up to the microscopic and mesoscopic scale, are very helpful for clarifying structure-property relationships. Chiroptical imaging is currently gaining a central role, for its ability of mapping local supramolecular structures in thin films. The present review gives an overview of electronic circular dichroism imaging (ECDi), circularly polarized luminescence imaging (CPLi), and vibrational circular dichroism imaging (VCDi), with a focus on their applications on thin films of chiral organic dyes as case studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluigi Albano
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Taddeucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
- Diamond Light Source, Ltd., Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Gennaro Pescitelli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Di Bari
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
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