Hydrogen Bonding Propagated Phase Separation in Quasi-Epitaxial Single Crystals: A Pd-Br Molecular Insulator.

In condensed matter, phase separation is strongly related to ferroelasticity, ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, electron correlation, and crystallography. These ferroics are important for nano-electronic devices such as non-volatile memory. However, the quantitative information regarding the lattice (atomic) structure at the border of phase separation is unclear in many cases. Thus, to design electronic devices at the molecular level, a quantitative electron-lattice relationship must be established. Herein, we elucidated a PdII-PdIV/PdIII-PdIII phase transition and phase separation mechanism for [Pd(cptn)2Br]Br2 (cptn = 1R,2R-diaminocyclopentane), propagated through a hydrogen-bonding network. Although the Pd···Pd distance was used to determine the electronic state, the differences in the Pd···Pd distance and the optical gap between Mott-Hubbard (MH) and charge-density-wave (CDW) states were only 0.012 Å and 0.17 eV, respectively. The N-H···Br···H-N hydrogen-bonding network functioned as a jack, adjusting the structural difference dynamically, and allowing visible ferroelastic phase transition/separation in a fluctuating N2 gas flow. Additionally, the effect of the phase separation on the spin susceptibility and electrical conductivity were clarified to represent the quasi-epitaxial crystals among CDW-MH states. These results indicate that the phase transitions and separations could be controlled via atomic and molecular level modifications, such as the addition of hydrogen bonding.

An unusual Pd(III) oxidation state in the Pd-Cl chain complex with high thermal stability and electrical conductivity.

The Pd(iii) oxidation state is unusual and unstable since it strongly tends to disproportionate. We synthesized the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) halogen-bridged Pd(iii)-Cl complex [Pd(dabdOH)2Cl]Cl2 (1-Cl; dabdOH = (2S,3S)-2,3-diaminobutane-1,4-diol) with multiple hydrogen bonds. From single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the bridging Cl- ions were located at the midpoint of the Pd-Cl-Pd moieties in the 1D chains, indicating that the Pd ions are in a Pd(iii) average valence (AV) state. Moreover, bright spots for the Pd(iii) dz2 orbitals in the upper Hubbard band above the Fermi level were observed every ∼5 Šusing scanning tunnelling microscopy. These results clearly indicate that the Pd ions are in a Pd(iii) AV state in 1-Cl. In addition, 1-Cl has the highest thermal stability (470 K) among the Pd(iii) complexes reported and the highest electrical conductivity (0.6 S cm-1 at 300 K) among the 1D Pd-Cl chains reported so far.

Correlation between Chemical and Physical Pressures on Charge Bistability in [Pd(en)2Br](Suc-Cn)2·H2O.

Hydrostatic (physical) pressure effects on the electrical resistivity of a bromido-bridged palladium compound, [Pd(en)2Br](Suc-C5)2·H2O, were studied. The charge-density-wave to Mott-Hubbard phase transition temperature (TPT) steadily increased with pressure. By a comparison of the effects of the chemical and physical pressures on TPT, it was estimated that the chemical pressure by unit alkyl chain length, i.e., the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chains within the counterion, corresponded to ca. 1.3 kbar of the physical pressure.

Multiple-Hydrogen-Bond Approach to Uncommon Pd(III) Oxidation State: A Pd-Br Chain with High Conductivity and Thermal Stability.

A Br-bridged Pd chain complex with the Pd ion in an uncommon +3 oxidation state, [Pd(dabdOH)2Br]Br2 (3), was prepared using a new method involving multiple hydrogen bonds. The PdBr chain complex exhibited superior electrical conductivity and thermal stability. An in-plane ligand with an additional hydrogen donor group (hydroxy group), (2S,3S)-2,3-diaminobutane-1,4-diol (dabdOH), was used to create a multiple-hydrogen-bond network, which effectively shrinks the Pd-Br-Pd distance, stabilizing the Pd(III) state up to its decomposition temperature (443 K). 3 shows semiconducting behavior with quite high electrical conductivity (3-38 S cm-1 at room temperature), which is 106 times larger than the previous record for analogous PdBr chains. Indeed, 3 is the most conductive MX-type chain complex reported so far. The precise positional control of ions via a multiple-hydrogen-bond network is a useful method for controlling the electronic states, thermal stability and conductivity of linear coordination polymers.

High Current Injection into Dynamic p-n Homojunction in Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells.

Ions and electrons in blends of polymer-electrolyte can work in ensemble to operate light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), in which the unique features of in situ formed p-n homojunctions offer efficient charge injection and transport. However, electrochemical features give rise to significant stability and speed issues due to limited electrochemical stability and low ion mobility, resulting in low brightness and a slow response of LECs. Here, these issues are overcome by the separate control of ionic and electronic charges, using a simple driving pulse superimposed on a small base voltage; ions with slow response are rearranged by a constant base voltage, while a high-voltage pulse, superimposed upon the base, injects electrons/holes which have fast response, with minimal effect on the ions. This scheme successfully injects an extremely high current density of > 2 kA cm-2 with a balanced electron/hole ratio, at a high-speed response time of ≈ 50 ns; both properties demonstrate advantages of LECs in making polymers brighter. An in situ electron spin resonance measurement on the LECs further revealed that this impressive performance is due to the highly doped polymers, whose spin density reached 7 × 1019 spins cm-3 , and an ordered polymer structure in the active layer blend.

2D coherent charge transport in highly ordered conducting polymers doped by solid state diffusion.

Doping is one of the most important methods to control charge carrier concentration in semiconductors. Ideally, the introduction of dopants should not perturb the ordered microstructure of the semiconducting host. In some systems, such as modulation-doped inorganic semiconductors or molecular charge transfer crystals, this can be achieved by spatially separating the dopants from the charge transport pathways. However, in conducting polymers, dopants tend to be randomly distributed within the conjugated polymer, and as a result the transport properties are strongly affected by the resulting structural and electronic disorder. Here, we show that in the highly ordered lamellar microstructure of a regioregular thiophene-based conjugated polymer, a small-molecule p-type dopant can be incorporated by solid state diffusion into the layers of solubilizing side chains without disrupting the conjugated layers. In contrast to more disordered systems, this allows us to observe coherent, free-electron-like charge transport properties, including a nearly ideal Hall effect in a wide temperature range, a positive magnetoconductance due to weak localization and the Pauli paramagnetic spin susceptibility.

Bromide-bridged palladium(III) chain complexes showing charge bistability near room temperature.

We synthesized and characterized bromide-bridged Pd(III) chain complexes, [Pd(en)2Br](MalCn-Y)2·H2O (en = ethylenediamine; MalCn-Y = dialkyl sulfomalonate; n: the number of carbon atoms) (n = 7 and 12). The compound with n = 7 showed charge-bistability near room temperature. In addition, it is shown that the Pd(III) state is maintained in the thin film state.

Magnetic anisotropy in a spin 1/2 quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetic copper(II) complex CuCl2(pdz) with a staggered g-tensor.

We report an unusual magnetic anisotropy in a S = 1/2 1D antiferromagnetic (AF) compound CuCl2(pdz) (pdz = pyridazine). The magnetic susceptibility for H//a* and H//c showed characteristic behavior in the S = 1/2 1D Heisenberg AF system, whereas that for H//b exhibited a 1/T contribution. The origin of such an anomalous anisotropy in the magnetic susceptibility is explained by the staggered g-tensor of this compound.

Microscopic signature of metallic state in semicrystalline conjugated polymers doped with fluoroalkylsilane molecules.

Fluoroalkylsilane (FTS) acts as an efficient p-type dopant for organic semiconductors. FTS-doped films of the semicrystalline PBTTT polymer exhibit relatively high conductivities. We demonstrate that highly doped PBTTT films exhibit a metallic nature with clear Pauli paramagnetism as observed microscopically using electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The metallic state is realized within crystalline grains, as confirmed from the anisotropy of the ESR signal.

New BDH-TTP/[M(III)(C5O5)3]3- (M = Fe, Ga) isostructural molecular metals.

Two new isostructural molecular metals-(BDH-TTP)(6)[M(III)(C(5)O(5))(3)]·CH(2)Cl(2) (BDH-TTP = 2,5-bis(1,3-dithiolan-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene, where M = Fe (1) and Ga (2))-have been prepared and fully characterized. Compound 1 is a molecular conductor showing paramagnetic behavior, which is due to the presence of isolated [Fe(C(5)O(5))(3)](3-) complexes with high-spin S = (5)/(2) Fe(III) metal ions. The conductivity originates from the BDH-TTP organic donors arranged in a κ-type molecular packing. At 4 kbar, compound 1 behaves as a metal down to ∼100 K, showing high conductivity (∼10 S cm(-1)) at room temperature. When applying a pressure higher than 7 kbar, the metal-insulator (M-I) transition is suppressed and the compound retains the metallic state down to low temperatures (2 K). For 1, ESR signals have been interpreted as being caused by the fine structure splitting of the high-spin (S = 5/2) state of Fe(III) in the distorted octahedral crystal field from the ligands. At 4 kbar, the isostructural compound 2 behaves as a metal down to ∼100 K, although it is noteworthy that the M-I transition is not suppressed, even at pressures of 15 kbar. For 2, only the signal assigned to delocalized π-electrons has been observed in the ESR measurements.

Charge-density-wave to Mott-Hubbard phase transition in quasi-one-dimensional bromo-bridged Pd compounds.

A -Pd(III)-Br-Pd(III)-Mott-Hubbard state was observed in a quasi-one-dimensional bromo-bridged Pd compound [Pd(en)2Br](C5-Y)2 x H2O (en = ethylenediamine, C5-Y = dipentylsulfosuccinate) for the first time. The phase transition between Mott-Hubbard and charge-density-wave states occurred at 206 +/- 2 K and was confirmed by using X-ray, ESR, Raman and electronic spectroscopies, electrical resistivity, and heat capacity. From X-ray powder diffraction patterns and Raman spectra of a series of Pd-Br compounds, [Pd(en)2Br](C(n)-Y)2 x H2O (n = 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12), chemical pressure from the alkyl chains of the counterions caused the phase transition.

Electronic structure of Co(III) doped bromo-bridged Ni complexes, [Ni1-xCox(chxn)2Br]Br2.

This article describes the electronic structure of the Co(III) doped Br bridged Ni(III) complexes, [Ni(1-x)Cox(chxn)2Br]Br2 (x = 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.11) by using a optical spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. In the optical reflectivity spectrum, the new band was formed at about 0.5 eV, which is reasonably recognized as the d(z2) band of doped Co(III) ions. In the STM images of [Ni(1-x)Cox(chxn)2Br]Br2, the bright spots attributable to the tunnel current from the Fermi level of the STM tip to the conduction band of the sample were observed. In addition, some brighter spots were also observed. Because the number of the brighter spots is in good agreement with that of doped Co species, the brighter spots can be assigned to doped Co(III) sites. These are reasonably explained by the tunnel current from the Fermi level of the tip to the d(z2) band of Co(III). The Curie spin concentration was gradually increased with increasing Co(III) ions, which is explained by the scissions of the S = 1/2 1D antiferromagnetic chains.

One-dimensional bromo-bridged Ni III complexes [Ni(S,S-bn)2Br]Br2 (S,S-bn=2S,3S-diaminobutane): synthesis, physical properties, and electrostatic carrier doping.

A new bromo-bridged Ni III compound has been synthesized. This compound displayed a strong antiferromagnetic interaction between spins located on Ni III species (J=(2350+/-500) K) that result from the strong covalency of the Ni--Br bond and the spin-Peierls transition below 150 K. This was shown by the results of magnetic susceptibility and 81Br nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy analysis. We succeeded in the electrostatic carrier doping of a single crystalline sample by using a field-effect transistor device. This compound also showed n-type semiconductor behavior, which can be reasonably rationalized by the existence of a small amount of Ni II impurities.

Metal-insulator transition of charge-transfer salts based on unsymmetrical donor DMET and metal halide anions (DMET)4(MCl4)(TCE)2 (M = Mn, Co, Cu, Zn; TCE = 1,1,2-trichloroethane).

New charge-transfer salts based on an unsymmetrical donor DMET [dimethyl(ethylenedithio)diselenadithiafulvalene] and metal halide anions (DMET)4MIICl4(TCE)2 (M = Mn, Co, Cu, Zn; TCE = 1,1,2-trichloroethane) have been synthesized and characterized by transport and magnetic measurements. The crystal structures of the DMET salts are isostructural, consisting of a quasi-one-dimensional stack of DMET and insulating layers containing metal halide anions and TCE. Semimetallic band structures are calculated by the tight-binding approximation. Metal-insulator transitions are observed at TMI = 25, 15, 5-20, and 13 K for M = Mn, Co, Cu, and Zn, respectively. The M = Cu salt exhibits anisotropic conduction at ambient pressure, being semiconducting in the intralayer current direction but metallic for the interplane current direction, down to T(MI). The metal-insulator transitions are suppressed under pressure. In the M = Co and Zn salts, large magnetoresistances with hysteresis are observed at low temperatures, on which Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are superposed above 30 T. In the M = Cu salt, no hysteresis is observed but clear Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are observed. The magnetoresistance is small and monotonic in the M = Mn salt. Paramagnetic susceptibilities of the spins of the magnetic ions are observed for the M = Mn, Co, and Cu salts with small negative Weiss temperatures of approximately 1 K. In the nonmagnetic M = Zn salt, Pauli-like pi-electron susceptibility that vanishes at TMI is observed. The ground state of the pi-electron system is understood as being a spin density wave state caused by imperfect nesting of the Fermi surfaces. In this pi-electron system, the magnetic ions of the M = Mn, Co, and Cu salts interact differently, exhibiting a variety of transport behaviors.

Dynamical valence fluctuation at the charge-density-wave phase boundary in iodide-bridged Pt compound [Pt(chxn)2I]I2.

We synthesized a novel iodo-bridged linear chain platinum compound, having the quasi-two-dimensional charge-density-wave (CDW) ground state and the smallest band gap. In this compound, we discovered an anomalous valence state in the boundary region at which the CDW phase alternates in the crystal by means of ESR, X-ray diffuse scattering, STM, and electrical resistivity. This anomalous state can be explained by the fast fluctuation between Pt(IV)-I...Pt(II) and Pt(II)...I-Pt(IV) in the double well potential. This is the first observation of the dynamical fluctuation of the CDW phase among the quasi one-dimensional halogen-bridged complexes.

Spatial extent of wave functions of gate-induced hole carriers in pentacene field-effect devices as investigated by electron spin resonance.

An electron spin resonance (ESR) method is applied to a pentacene field-effect device to investigate gate-induced hole carriers in such devices. Clear field-induced ESR signals are observed, demonstrating that all of the field-injected carriers have S = 1/2 spins. Anisotropic ESR signals due to unpaired pi electrons show the molecular orientation at the interface in the devices. The spatial extent of the spin density distribution (wave function) of the carriers is evaluated from the ESR linewidth, accounting for the hyperfine structure, to be of the order of 10 molecules.

J-aggregation and its characterization in Langmuir-Blodgett films of merocyanine dyes.

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films are constructed by successively transferring monomolecular layers formed at the air-water interface onto solid substrates. One of the advantages of the LB technique in fabricating molecular aggregates lies in the fact that it can employ various kinds of molecules by mixing them at the air-water interface. The mixed system may exhibit new properties that are not observed for individual components. This method would be useful, for example, in the studies of the formation and control of the J-aggregates of functional dyes that attract attention both in science and technology. In this paper, I review this subject mainly based on our recent results in merocyanines. LB films of merocyanine dyes, mixed with arachidic acid (C(20)), exhibit J-aggregate formation and have been serving as typical systems in revealing the physical and structural aspects of nanosized molecular aggregates constructed as monolayers. In the case of LB films of a merocyanine dye having benzothiazole as donor nucleus (abbreviated as DS), electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy has been successful in determining the characteristic in-plane orientation of dye molecules with respect to the dipping direction, which led to the discovery of the flow orientation effect during the dipping process of LB films as the origin of optical dichroism often observed in LB films. In this article, after an introduction of ESR spectroscopy, three major topics on the merocyanine J-aggregation and its characterization in mixed films are discussed. The first topic is the observation and control of the size of J-aggregates in the dilution limit of dyes in arachidic acid matrix for a methyl-substituted DS (6-Me-DS). Dependence of atomic force microscopy (AFM) patterns on the molar ratio allows the identification of dye domains. J-band optical peak analysis based on the Kuhn's extended dipole model, supplemented by a novel application of femtosecond pump-probe optical spectroscopy, yields the size of the J-aggregates of 10(3). The second topic is the control of the J-band peak wavelengths by mixing two different kinds of dye molecules. The first case is the mixture of a J-forming 6-Me-DS and non-J-forming merocyanine analog, DO with benzo-oxazole instead of benzothiazole of DS. The second case is the mixture of both J-forming dyes but with different J-band peak positions, 6-Me-DS and another analog of 5-Cl-DS. The optical peak shifts depending on the molar mixing ratio will be presented. The last topic is related to the elucidation of electronic states of dye molecules in the J-aggregates. Light-induced ESR (LESR) of DS films with stable isotope ((15)N or (13)C)-substituted dyes provide clear evidence for the photoinduced charge transfer by the detection of hyperfine structures. Moreover, infrared (IR) spectroscopy of (13)C-enriched dye identifies the IR absorption peak of the relevant carbon in the chromophore. The results give evidence for the enhanced intramolecular charge transfer of dyes in the J-aggregates compared with an isolated merocyanine composed of donor and acceptor moiety. Lastly, the Cl attachment in 5-Cl-DS leads to a significant enhancement of the nitrogen hyperfine coupling in the LESR spectra. These examples and others demonstrate the potential of LB films of merocyanines in the studies of the nanosized molecular aggregates in monolayer assemblies.