Coaxially Conductive Organic Wires Through Self-Assembly.

Here, we describe the synthesis of the hexameric macrocyclic aniline (MA[6]), which spontaneously assembles into coaxially conductive organic wires in its oxidized and acidified emeraldine salt (ES) form. Electrical measurements reveal that ES-MA[6] exhibits high electrical conductivity (7.5 × 10-2 S·cm-1) and that this conductivity is acid-base responsive. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography reveals that ES-MA[6] assembles into well-defined trimeric units that then stack into nanotubes with regular channels, providing a potential route to synthetic nanotubes that are leveraged for ion or small molecule transport. Ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared absorbance spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy showcase the interconversion between acidic (conductive) and basic (insulating) forms of these macrocycles and how charge carriers are formed through protonation, giving rise to the experimentally observed high electrical conductivity.

Electric fields drive bond homolysis.

Electric fields have been used to control and direct chemical reactions in biochemistry and enzymatic catalysis, yet directly applying external electric fields to activate reactions in bulk solution and to characterize them ex situ remains a challenge. Here we utilize the scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique to investigate the electric field driven homolytic cleavage of the radical initiator 4-(methylthio)benzoic peroxyanhydride at ambient temperatures in bulk solution, without the use of co-initiators or photochemical activators. Through time-dependent ex situ quantification by high performance liquid chromatography using a UV-vis detector, we find that the electric field catalyzes the reaction. Importantly, we demonstrate that the reaction rate in a field increases linearly with the solvent dielectric constant. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that the applied electric field decreases the dissociation energy of the O-O bond and stabilizes the product relative to the reactant due to their different dipole moments.

Remote Control of Dynamic Twistacene Chirality.

We report a reliable way to manipulate the dynamic, axial chirality in perylene diimide (PDI)-based twistacenes. Specifically, we reveal how chiral substituents on the imide position induce the helicity in a series of PDI-based twistacenes. We demonstrate that this remote chirality is able to control the helicity of flexible [4]helicene subunits by UV-vis, CD spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and TDDFT calculations. Furthermore, we have discovered that both the chiral substituent and the solvent each has a strong impact on the sign and intensity of the CD signals, highlighting the control of the dynamic helicity in this flexible system. DFT calculations suggest that the steric interaction of the chiral substituents is the important factor in how well a particular group is at inducing a preferred helicity.

High-Performance Organic Electronic Materials by Contorting Perylene Diimides.

Perylene diimide (PDI) is a workhorse of the organic electronics community. However, the vast majority of designs that include PDI substitute the core with various functional groups to encourage intimate cofacial contacts between largely planar PDIs. Over the past several years, we have observed the counterintuitive result that contorting the planar aromatic core of PDI leads to higher performing photovoltaics, photodetectors, batteries, and other organic electronic devices. In this Perspective, we describe how different modes of contortion can be reliably installed into PDI-based molecules, oligomers, and polymers. We also describe how these different contortions modify the observed optical and electronic properties of PDI. For instance, contorting PDIs into bowls leads to high-efficiency singlet fission materials, while contorting PDIs into helicene-like structures leads to nonlinear amplification of Cotton effects, culminating in the highest g-factors so far observed for organic compounds. Finally, we show how these unique optoelectronic properties give rise to higher performance organic electronic devices. We specifically note how the three-dimensional structure of these contorted aromatic molecules is responsible for the enhancements in performance we observe. Throughout this Perspective, we highlight opportunities for continued study in this rapidly developing organic materials frontier.

Helicene Monomers and Dimers: Chiral Chromophores Featuring Strong Circularly Polarized Luminescence.

The synthesis and chiroptical properties of a series of enantiomerically pure, C2 -symmetrical carbo[6]helicene dimers are reported. Two helicene cores are connected through a buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl linker or a heteroaromatic bridge and bear arylethynyl substituents at their 15-positions. This ensures the possibility of extended electronic communication throughout the whole molecule. The new chromophores exhibit intense ECD spectra with strong bands in the UV/Vis region well above 400 nm. The anisotropy factor gabs (defined as Δϵ/ϵ) reaches values up to 0.047, which are unusually large for single organic molecules. They also display blue fluorescence, with good quantum yields (Φf ∼0.25). The emitted light is circularly polarized to an outstanding extent: in some cases, the luminescence dissymmetry factor glum =2(IL -IR )/(IL +IR ) attains values of |0.025|. To the best of our knowledge, such values are among the highest ever reported for non-aggregated organic fluorophores.

Helical Threads: Enantiomerically Pure Carbo[6]Helicene Oligomers.

We report the synthesis of enantiomerically pure carbo[6]helicene oligomers with buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl bridges between the helicene nuclei. The synthesis of monomeric (±)-2,15-bis[(triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl]carbo[6]helicene was achieved in 25 % yield over six steps. Pure (+)-(P)- and (-)-(M)-enantiomers were obtained by HPLC on a chiral stationary phase. The dimeric (+)-(P)2 - and (-)-(M)2 -configured and the tetrameric (+)-(P)4 - and (-)-(M)4 -configured oligomers were obtained by sequential oxidative acetylenic coupling. The ECD spectra of the tetrameric oligomers displayed large Cotton effect intensities of Δϵ=-851 m-1  cm-1 at λ=370 nm ((M)4 -enantiomer). We transformed the buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl bridge in the dimeric (P)2 and (M)2 oligomer by heteroaromatization into a thiene-2,5-diyl linker. Although the resulting chromophore showed reduced ECD intensities, it exhibited a remarkably strong fluorescence emission at 450-500 nm, with an absolute quantum yield of 25 %.

Chemoselective Acylation of Primary Amines and Amides with Potassium Acyltrifluoroborates under Acidic Conditions.

Current methods for constructing amide bonds join amines and carboxylic acids by dehydrative couplings-processes that usually require organic solvents, expensive and often dangerous coupling reagents, and masking other functional groups. Here we describe an amide formation using primary amines and potassium acyltrifluoroborates promoted by simple chlorinating agents that proceeds rapidly in water. The reaction is fast at acidic pH and tolerates alcohols, carboxylic acids, and even secondary amines in the substrates. It is applicable to the functionalization of primary amides, sulfonamides, and other N-functional groups that typically resist classical acylations and can be applied to late-stage functionalizations.