Vertically standing nanowalls of pristine poly(azomethine) on a graphite by chemical liquid deposition

Abstract

The continuous epitaxial growth of vertically standing nanowalls of aromatic poly(azomethine), which consisted of hydroxyl-substituted aromatic dialdehydes and several aromatic diamines as building blocks, was achieved on a graphite substrate, using chemical liquid deposition in aqueous media. The vertical growth of poly(azomethine) nanowalls (ANWs) occurred on a graphite sheet, and they were arranged with a rotational angle of 60° relative to each other. Spontaneous “on-site” polycondensation selectively progressed on the top edges of the walls, rather than the flat surfaces or bottoms of walls. The formation of the standing ANWs was likely due to limited supply of monomers in the solution, and the strong intermolecular π–π stacking. In addition, fluorescent/nonfluorescent ANWs were arbitrarily designed by selecting nonconjugated or conjugated aromatic diamines, respectively.