Controlling stacking order and charge transport in π-stacks of aromatic molecules based on surface assembly.

Here, we report a facile procedure based on surface self-assembly for controlling the π-π stacking order and relevant rectified charge transport properties in stacks of aromatic molecules on a single-molecule scale. A high rectification ratio of 10 was achieved and the rectification direction was uniquely determined by the controlled stacking order of the aromatic molecules on the graphene layers of HOPG.

Compressed Corannulene in a Molecular Cage.

Self-assembled coordination cages can be employed as a molecular press, where the bowl-shaped guest corannulene (C20H10) is significantly flattened upon inclusion within the hydrophobic cavity. This is demonstrated by the pairwise inclusion of corannulene with naphthalene diimide as well as by the dimer inclusion of bromocorannulene inside the box-like host. The compressed corannulene structures are unambiguously revealed by single-crystal X-ray analysis.

Rectifying Electron-Transport Properties through Stacks of Aromatic Molecules Inserted into a Self-Assembled Cage.

Aromatic stacks formed through self-assembly are promising building blocks for the construction of molecular electronic devices with adjustable electronic functions, in which noncovalently bound π-stacks act as replaceable modular components. Here we describe the electron-transport properties of single-molecule aromatic stacks aligned in a self-assembled cage, using scanning probe microscopic and break junction methods. Same and different modular aromatic pairs are noncovalently bound and stacked within the molecular cage holder, which leads to diverse electronic functions. The insertion of same pairs induces high electronic conductivity (10(-3)-10(-2) G0, G0 = 2e(2)/h), while different pairs develop additional electronic rectification properties. The rectification ratio was, respectively, estimated to be 1.4-2 and >10 in current-voltage characteristics and molecular orientation-dependent conductance measurements at a fixed bias voltage. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that this rectification behavior originates from the distinct stacking order of the internal aromatic components against the electron-transport direction and the corresponding lowest unoccupied molecular orbital conduction channels localized on one side of the molecular junctions.

A tray-shaped, Pd(II)-clipped Au3 complex as a scaffold for the modular assembly of [3×n] Au ion clusters.

A tray-shaped Pd(II)3Au(I)3 complex (1) is prepared from 3,5-bis(3-pyridyl)pyrazole by means of tricyclization with Au(I) followed by Pd(II) clipping. Tray 1 is an efficient scaffold for the modular assembly of [3×n] Au(I) clusters. Treatment of 1 with the Au(I)3 tricyclic guest 2 in H2O/CH3CN (7:3) or H2O results in the selective formation of a [3×2] cluster (1⋅2) or a [3×3] cluster (1⋅2⋅1), respectively. Upon subsequent addition of Ag(I) ions, these complexes are converted to an unprecedented Au3-Au3-Ag-Au3-Au3 metal ion cluster.

[m × n] metal ion arrays templated by coordination cages.

Three-dimensional m × n arrays of metal ion clusters can be assembled as aromatic stacks of planar polynuclear metal complexes within columnar coordination cages. The polynuclear complexes and cage height program the final array structures of the metal ion clusters. Cyclic trinuclear Au(I) complexes (m = 3) assembled into trigonal prismatic arrays (n = 1-3) within the cages and the array structures were clearly shown by X-ray crystallographic analysis. A silver-sandwiched hetero-Au(3)-Ag-Au(3) cluster was also prepared by treating a hexanuclear Au(3)-Au(3) cluster with Ag(I) ion.