Phase transitions and structures of novel pyrenes potentially useful in photovoltaic applications.

A series of conjugated compounds, 6,7,15,16-tetrakis(alkylthio)quinoxalino[2',3':9,10]phenanthro[4,5-abc]phenazine (TQPP-[SC(n)](4)) (n = 6, 8, 10, and 12), which display p-channel characteristics was synthesized. These materials show promise for use in liquid crystalline photovoltaic applications. To determine their applicability, the different phase structures and transitions of these compounds were studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Using TQPP-[SC(12)](4) as a model compound, DSC and 1D WAXD results showed that this compound possesses four crystalline, but no liquid crystalline, phases. Based on structural results obtained from 2D WAXD experiments on oriented samples and SAED patterns from single crystals, the unit cell of the lowest temperature TQPP-[SC(12)](4) crystalline phase (K(1)) was determined to be monoclinic with dimensions of a = 1.87 nm, b = 0.53 nm, c = 3.51 nm, and beta = 96.2 degrees . With increasing temperature, the K(1) phase transformed to other crystalline phases which all were monoclinic with different crystallographic parameters. The arrangement of the TQPP-[SC(12)](4) rigid fused rings changed only slightly in these crystalline phases, yet the conformation of the alkyl chains attached to the rigid cores changed significantly at the phase transitions. For the other TQPP-[SC(n)](4) compounds, only two phase transitions could be identified. It was determined that the transition temperature can be tuned by modifying the attached alkyl chains at the four corners of the rigid fused rings. One-dimensional WAXD studies indicated that the condensed state phase transitions of these compounds were all crystal-crystal transitions. Although single crystals will provide the highest charge carrier mobility, they are very difficult to grow and incur a high cost in production. On the other hand, liquid crystalline phases are preferred for the ease of processing and reasonable performance in change carrier mobility. Therefore, in order to achieve liquid crystalline phases in these compounds, as desired for their application as organic photovoltaic materials, additional modifications to the alkyl chains and their locations are necessary.

Phase behaviors and supra-molecular structures of a series of symmetrically tapered bisamides.

A series of symmetrically tapered 1,4-bis[3,4,5-tris(alkan-1-yloxy)benzamido] benzene bisamides (CPhBA, where is the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chains, = 10, 12 and 16), was synthesized in order to investigate the effect of alkyl chain length on supra-molecular ordered structures induced by hydrogen (H)-bonding and micro-phase separation. These bisamides consist of a rigid aromatic bisamide core with three flexible alkyl chains at each end of the core. Major phase transitions and their origins in CPhBA bisamides were studied with differential scanning calorimetry, one-dimensional (1D) wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), infrared spectroscopy, and solid-state carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The structures of these compounds in different phases were identified using 2D WAXD from oriented samples and were also confirmed by selected area electron diffractions in transmission electron microscopy from stacked single crystals and by computer simulations. All of the CPhBA bisamides in this series formed a highly ordered oblique columnar () phase and a low-ordered oblique columnar () phase, similar to a recent report on C14PhBA. The two main driving forces in the formation of these two supra-molecular columnar structures were identified: One was the H-bond formation between N-H and C[double bond, length as m-dash]O groups, and the other was the micro-phase separation between the bisamide cores and the alkyl chains. With increasing the length of alkyl tails, the isotropization temperature decreased, while the disordering temperature of the alkyl tails increased. The 2D lattice structures perpendicular to the columnar axis also increasingly deviated from the pseudo-hexagonal packing with increasing the alkyl tail length. However, the alkyl tail length did not have a significant influence on the packing along the columnar axis direction. Utilizing polarized optical microscopy, the phase identifications were also supported by the observation of texture changes and molecular arrangements inside of the micro-sized domains.