Synthesis of a vinylogue tetrathiafulvalene derivative and study of its charge transfer complex with TCNQF4

Efficient synthesis of a vinylogue TTF derivative bearing four cyanoethylsulfanyl substituents, 9 is described. Cyclic voltammetry establishes that the novel compound shows good donor properties and a reduced on-site coulombic repulsion. Single crystal X-ray structure determination shows that the molecule has a planar structure of the conjugated moiety with a slipped π−π stacking organization in the crystal parallel to the crystallographic a axis. EPR, UV–vis and IR spectroscopies show that 9 forms a charge transfer complex with TCNQF4. EPR studies allow for the recognition of the 3:2 stoichiometry ratio between donor and acceptor while IR spectroscopy gave the estimation of the ionicity of the complex, which was found to be 0.31

A quaterthiophene-based rotaxane: synthesis, spectroscopy, and self-assembly at surfaces.

Threaded molecular wires are shown to feature tunable properties. A new rotaxane based on a quaterthiophene threaded through a single β-cyclodextrin exhibits delocalization of the aromatic system that is also extended onto the central phenyl rings of the m-terphenylene end-groups. The rotaxane can undergo self-assembly that is better than the analogous bithiophene derivative, due to the increased π-π interactions

Chemical control over the energy-level alignment in a two-terminal junction

10.1038/ncomms12066Nature Communications71206

Fluid Mixing for Low-Power \u2018Digital Microfluidics\u2019 Using Electroactive Molecular Monolayers

A switchable electrode, which relies on an indium-tin oxide conductive substrate coated with a self-assembled monolayer terminated with an anthraquinone group (AQ), is reported as an electrowetting system. AQ electrochemical features confer the capability of yielding a significant modulation of surface wettability as high as 26\ub0 when its redox state is switched. Hence, an array of planar electrodes for droplets actuation is fabricated and integrated in a microfluidic device to perform mixing and dispensing on sub-nanoliter scale. Vehiculation of cells across microfluidic compartments is made possible by taking full advantage of surface electrowetting in culture mediu