Dimension Controlled Self-Assembly of Perylene Based Molecules

Recent advances in the self-assembly of highly organized structures of organic semiconducting molecules by controlled non-covalent interactions has opened avenues for creating materials with unique optical and electrical properties. The main focus of this thesis lies in the synthesis and self-assembly of n-type perylene based organic semiconducting molecules into highly organized materials. Perylene based molecules used in this study are perylene diimide (PTCDI, two side-chains), perylene mono imide (m-PTCI, one side-chain), perylene tetracarboxylic acid (PTCA, no side-chain) and tetra-alkali metal salts of PTCA (M 4 -PTCA, no side-chain), which are synthesized from the parent perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA). The self-assembly of these molecules have been performed using solution processing methods (dispersion, phase-transfer, and phase-transfer at high temperature) by taking advantage of the changes in solubility of the molecules, wherein the molecular interactions are maximized to favorably allow for the formation of highly organized structures. Dimension control (1D, 2D and 3D structures) of self-assembly has been obtained for different perylene based molecules by appropriate design of the molecule followed by controlling the conditions of assembly. In case of PTCDI, a new solution processing method phase-transfer at high temperature (2L-HT) allowed for the controlled formation of extremely long and fluorescent 1D structure. For the m-PTCI molecules the organization by the 2L-HT method was found to result in highly organized, single-crystalline, fluorescent 2D sheets. In the case of perylene based molecules with no side-chains two different methods have been developed for the realization of organized 1D nanostructures. The first method utilizes the chemical conversion of a highly soluble PTCA into 1D nanofibers of the parent insoluble perylene tetracarboxylic anhydride. The second method utilizes the assembly of tetra potassium salt of PTCA (K 4 -PTCA) into 1D nanostructures. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that these 1D nanostructures can be chemically converted to two different chemical species, both of which still retain the 1D morphological characteristic, though with changes in the size. Various functional self-assembled structures developed in this thesis opens up new avenues to explore structure-property-function relationships and their use in applications such as sensors, electronics and opto-electronic devices