Abstract
Fibril structures are produced at a solvent–graphite interface by self-assembly of custom-designed symmetric and asymmetric amphiphilic benzamide derivatives bearing C10 aliphatic chains. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) studies reveal geometry-dependent internal structures for the elementary fibrils of the two molecules that are distinctly different from known mesophase bulk structures. The structures are described by building-block models based on hydrogen-bonded dimer and tetramer precursors of hydrazines. The closure and growth in length of building units into fibrils takes place through van der Waals forces acting between the dangling alkyl chains. The nanoscale morphology is a consequence of the basic molecular geometry, where it follows that a closure to form a fibril is not always likely for the doubly substituted hydrazine. Therefore, we also observe crystallite formation.
Highlights
One-dimensional micro- and nanostructures of organic compounds are important for solution-processable organic electronic devices [1,2,3], and electron transport through organic molecules is the basis for a large number of biological processes [4]
To investigate the structure formation of 2CHd-10 on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) at a molecular scale, a drop of a dilute solution of 2CHd-10 (≈0.24 wt %) dissolved in 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (C6H3Cl3) was deposited on HOPG and the liquid/solid interface searched for the thinnest fibrils by Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM)
Linear structures are formed from planar molecular precursors by means of ring closure aided by van der Waals interactions between alkyl chains
Summary
One-dimensional micro- and nanostructures of organic compounds are important for solution-processable organic electronic devices [1,2,3], and electron transport through organic molecules is the basis for a large number of biological processes [4]. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) studies reveal geometrydependent internal structures for the elementary fibrils of the two molecules that are distinctly different from known mesophase bulk structures.
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