3-D Organic nanostructures from self-assembly of branched aromatic rods

Abstract

Self-assembling molecules based on branched aromatic rods, which are prepared by repeating of aromatic coupling reaction and substitution, and flexible dibranched ether-type coils were synthesized. Aggregation behavior could be investigated by optical polarized microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. In contrast to the molecule 1 which shows an isotropic liquid state, the more elongated molecules 2 and 3 are observed to organize into a 3-D primitive monoclinic lattice with three distinct nanoscale dimensions, in which rods are tilted with respect to the layer normal.