Chiral Perylene Diimide Research Articles

Living Hybrid Exciton Materials: Enhanced Fluorescence and Chiroptical Properties in Living Supramolecular Polymers with Strong Frenkel/Charge‐Transfer Exciton Coupling

AbstractA family of chiral perylene diimides (PDIs) was newly developed as excellent circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials. They are asymmetrically derivatized with a double‐alkyl‐chained L‐ or D‐glutamate unit and a linear or branched alkyl chain. When water is added to the tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution of glutamate‐PDI‐linear‐alkyl chain compounds, kinetically formed H‐aggregates are formed in globular nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs undergo spontaneous transformation into thermodynamically stable nanotubes via helical nanostructures, which showed structured broad spectra originating from the strong coupling of delocalized Frenkel excitations (FE) and charge transfer excitations (CTE). Significant enhancement of circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence quantum yield, and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) are observed during the transformation of NPs to the FE/CTE‐coupled helical and tubular structures. This transformation process is significantly accelerated by applying physical stimuli, i.e., ultrasonication or adding helical aggregates as seed crystals, a feature unique to living supramolecular polymerization. Meanwhile, the branched chain‐containing PDIs only form H‐aggregates and did not show FE/CTE hybrid exciton states with living supramolecular polymerization properties. This study unveils that suitably designed chiral PDI derivatives show FE/CTE coupling accompanied by high fluorescence quantum yields, enhanced chiroptical properties, and supramolecular living polymerization characteristics.

Living Hybrid Exciton Materials: Enhanced Fluorescence and Chiroptical Properties in Living Supramolecular Polymers with Strong Frenkel/Charge-Transfer Exciton Coupling.

A family of chiral perylene diimides (PDIs) was newly developed as excellent circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials. They are asymmetrically derivatized with a double-alkyl-chained L- or D-glutamate unit and a linear or branched alkyl chain. When water is added to the tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution of glutamate-PDI-linear-alkyl chain compounds, kinetically formed H-aggregates are formed in globular nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs undergo spontaneous transformation into thermodynamically stable nanotubes via helical nanostructures, which showed structured broad spectra originating from the strong coupling of delocalized Frenkel excitations (FE) and charge transfer excitations (CTE). Significant enhancement of circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence quantum yield, and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) are observed during the transformation of NPs to the FE/CTE-coupled helical and tubular structures. This transformation process is significantly accelerated by applying physical stimuli, i.e., ultrasonication or adding helical aggregates as seed crystals, a feature unique to living supramolecular polymerization. Meanwhile, the branched chain-containing PDIs only form H-aggregates and did not show FE/CTE hybrid exciton states with living supramolecular polymerization properties. This study unveils that suitably designed chiral PDI derivatives show FE/CTE coupling accompanied by high fluorescence quantum yields, enhanced chiroptical properties, and supramolecular living polymerization characteristics.

Spin Filtering and Amplification in Self-Assembled Nanofibers Based on Chiral Asymmetric Building Blocks.

The cooperativity in artificial self-assembling systems can be enhanced to expand their applications and redesign their properties. Recently, chiral molecules have garnered renewed attention due to their potential as highly efficient spin filters through the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. However, the potential of asymmetric building blocks based on chiral perylene diimides (PDIs) self-assembled materials to generate a spin-polarized current is still not widely acknowledged. In this work, we have demonstrated that nanofibers derived from "asymmetric PDIs" molecules have been found to exhibit promising spin-filtering property and the amplification of spin polarization at room temperature. Also, the exploration of chiral amplification and correlating it with the amplification of spin polarization have been reported for the first time through this work. These findings underscore the significance of self-assembled materials in the realm of spintronics, as they offer fascinating platforms with evolving structure-property relationship. It also provides the feasible possibility of enhancing the CISS-based spintronic devices that can accomplish controllability and high spin-filtering efficiency simultaneously.

Surface doping effect on the optoelectronic performance of 2D organic crystals based on cyano-substituted perylene diimides

Compared to organic thin films, organic single crystals offer significant potential in organic phototransistors (OPTs) due to their enhanced charge transport, large surface area, and defect-free nature. However, the development of n-type semiconductors has lagged behind p-type semiconductors. To enhance semiconductor device performance, a doping process can be employed, which typically involves the introduction of charged impurities into the crystalline semiconducting material. Its aim is to reduce the Ohmic losses, increase carrier density, improve transport capabilities, and facilitate effective carrier injection, ultimately enhancing the electrical properties of the material. Traditional doping processes, however, often pose a risk of damaging the structure of single crystals. In this study, we have synthesized novel cyano-substituted chiral perylene diimides, which self-assemble into two-dimensional single crystals that can be used for n-type semiconductor devices. We have employed a surface doping strategy using diethylamine vapor without disrupting the crystal structure. The fabricated devices exhibit significantly higher charge transport properties after doping, achieving a maximum electron mobility of 0.14 cm² V−¹ s−¹, representing an improvement of over threefold. Furthermore, the optoelectronic performance of the doped devices has significantly improved, with the external quantum efficiency increased by over 9 times and the significantly improved response time. These results suggest that our surface doping technology is a promising way for enhancing the performance of 2D organic single-crystal OPTs.

Synthesis and Physical Properties of a Perylene Diimide-Embedded Chiral Conjugated Macrocycle

Herein, we report the facile synthesis and properties of a chiral perylene diimide (PDI)-embedded conjugated macrocycle (cyclo[6]paraphenylene-1,7-perylene diimide, [6]CPP-PDI1,7) by Pd-catalyzed Suzuki coupling and a subsequent reductive aromatization reaction in two steps. The PDI-embedded conjugated macrocycle showed a significant redshift (>110 nm for absorption) compared to the PDI molecule. Moreover, efficient resolution of chiral enantiomers with (P)/(M)-[6]CPP-PDI1,7 was achieved by high-performance liquid chromatography, and their chiral properties were investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The realization of [6]CPP-PDI1,7 expands the scope of the precise synthesis of PDI-embedded chiral conjugated macrocycles and explores its unique physical properties.

Solid-State Photophysical Properties of Chiral Perylene Diimide Derivatives: AIEnh-Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Vacuum-Deposited Thin Films

Abstract Studies on the optical properties of chiral perylene diimide derivatives, (S,S)- and (R,R)-BPP (BPP = N,N′-bis(1-phenylethyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide), through absorption, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, and chiroptical spectroscopies revealed that the vacuum-deposited thin films of (S,S)- and (R,R)-BPP exhibit aggregation-induced enhanced (AIEnh) circularly polarized luminescence (CPL), as observed when they are dispersed in KBr and polymer matrices. Fluorescence lifetimes revealed that two emissive species exist in the deposited thin film: the dimer state with a fast decay and the weakly coupled excimer state with a slow decay. Unlike the dilute solutions of chiral BPPs, the deposited thin films displayed circular dichroism (CD) and CPL, indicating solid-state aggregation-induced chiroptical properties of chiral BPPs. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations on isolated monomer and π-stacked dimer suggested that the formation of a chirally twisted molecular arrangement through intermolecular π–π interactions is essential for the chiroptical properties of (S,S)- and (R,R)-BPP in the solid states. Moreover, we fabricated organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using (S,S)- and (R,R)-BPP isomers as CPL emitters. The devices exhibited circularly polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) although the EL dissymmetry factor (gEL) was significantly low, as has been frequently noted in earlier studies.

Active Regulation of Supramolecular Chirality through Integration of CdSe/CdS Nanorods for Strong and Tunable Circular Polarized Luminescence.

Building the cooperativity in artificial self-assembling systems will synergistically reshape their properties and expand their application spectrum. Here, we show how the cooperativity between achiral CdSe/CdS nanorods (NRs) and chiral perylene diimide (PDI)-based molecules is built upon their coassembly. We demonstrate that chirality transfer from chiral molecular assemblies to CdSe/CdS NRs is enabled by the encapsulation of NRs into PDI suprascrolls through chain-chain van der Waals interactions, which in turn gives rise to markedly enhanced circularly polarized luminescence of the nanocomposites. Additionally, the circularly polarized emissive bands of the nanocomposites could be finely tuned by engineering the emissive bands of NRs. More importantly, these nanocomposites are able to invert their chirality when NRs are self-assembled into chiral superlattices under a larger amount of NRs. Detailed mechanistic studies unveil that these jammed NRs assemblies hamper the folding of two-dimensional (2D) chiral nanosheets, which consequently suppress the interlayer excitonic coupling and implement the nanocomposites with inverted chirality. Our finding exemplifies a way to invert the chirality switching from folding to unfolding of 2D supramolecular nanosheets, akin to the chirality inversion in the helix-to-superhelix transition in conventional one-dimensional (1D) supramolecular systems. We also show that the strong van der Waals interactions from aliphatic chains are crucial in achieving such chirality transfer and inversion. Overall, we demonstrate that these achiral CdS/CdSe NRs could serve as artificial molecular chaperones to aid the unfolding of supramolecular nanosheets with controlled chirality.

Cover Feature: Circularly Polarized Luminescence from π‐Conjugated Chiral Perylene Diimide Luminophores: The Bay Position Effect (Asian J. Org. Chem. 11/2021)

In the paper, the circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) properties of chiral perylene diimide (BPP) luminophores are described. Chiral BPP and its derivatives bearing substituents at the bay positions exhibited intense aggregation-induced enhanced CPL (AIEnh-CPL) in the PMMA-film state. Their AIEnh-CPL signs could be attributed to the effects of the substituents at the bay position regardless of the same absolute configurations. More information can be found in the Full Paper by Yoshitane Imai et al.

Circularly Polarized Luminescence from π‐Conjugated Chiral Perylene Diimide Luminophores: The Bay Position Effect

AbstractThree types of chiral perylene diimide luminophores bearing ethynyl, phenyl, and ethynylphenyl substituents (BPP‐Ethy, BPP‐Ph, and BPP‐EthyPh) at the bay positions were prepared. The chiroptical properties of the compounds in their solution (in CHCl3) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)‐film solid states were investigated. Similar to the chiral BPP molecules bearing no substituents at the bay position, BPP‐Ethy, BPP‐Ph, and BPP‐EthyPh luminophores emitted no clear circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in CHCl3 solution. In contrast, the chiral BPP‐Ethy, BPP‐Ph, and BPP‐EthyPh luminophores exhibited intense aggregation‐induced enhanced CPL (AIEnh‐CPL) in the PMMA‐film state; BPP exhibited similar properties. Although the four luminophores were of the same absolute configurations, the CPL signs of the chiral BPP‐EthyPh were opposite to those of BPP, BPP‐Ethy, and BPP‐Ph. This could be attributed to the effects of the substituents at the bay position.

Surface-Doped Quasi-2D Chiral Organic Single Crystals for Chiroptical Sensing.

Chiral organic optoelectronics using circularly polarized light (CPL) as the key element in the photonic signal has recently emerged as a next-generation photonic technology. However, it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve high polarization selectivity and superior optoelectronic performance. Supramolecular two-dimensional (2D) chiral organic single crystals may be good candidates for this purpose due to their defect-free nature, molecular diversity, and morphologies. Here, quasi-2D single crystals of chiral perylene diimides with parallelogram and triangle/hexagon morphologies have been selectively fabricated via self-assembly using different cosolvent systems. These materials exhibit amplified circular dichroism (CD) spectral signals, due to their molecular packing modes and supramolecular chirality. Through molecular surface n-doping using hydrazine, chiral single crystals exhibit electron mobility surpassing 1.0 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is one of the highest among chiral organic semiconductors, and excellent optoelectronic functions. Theoretical calculations reveal that the radical anions formed by n-doping increase the electron affinity and/or reduce the energy gap, thus facilitating electron transport. More importantly, the doped organic chiral crystals selectively discriminate CPL handedness with a high anisotropy factor of photoresponsivity (∼0.12). These results demonstrate that surface-doped quasi-2D chiral organic single crystals are highly promising for chiral optoelectronics.

Non-classical control of solid-state aggregation-induced enhanced circularly polarized luminescence in chiral perylene diimides

Organic fluorescent molecules are gaining importance because of their potential applications in many devices. Optically active N,N′-bis((1R)-1-naphthylethyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide [(R,R)-1-BNP] and N,N′-bis((1R)-2-naphthylethyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide [(R,R)-2-BNP] and their antipode, [(S,S)-1-BNP and (S,S)-2-BNP], emit aggregation-induced enhanced (AIEnh) circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) on both a solid organic polymer film (poly(methyl methacrylate)) and solid inorganic KBr pellet. An opposite chirality is essential for generating CPL of inverted sign. However, a pair of enantiomeric organic molecules may not always be easy to prepare. Interestingly, the chiral perylene fluorophores synthesized in this study can emit both positive and negative AIEnh-CPL in the solid state, depending on their position on the naphthylene groups. In addition, no CPL was observed in these compounds from their dilute solutions.

Fabrication of Single-Handed Nanocoils with Controlled Length via a Living Supramolecular Self-Assembly

We report the fabrication of single-handed nanocoils with controlled length from chiral perylene diimide molecules via a living seeded self-assembly method. We demonstrate that the competition among π-interactions, steric repulsion, and transfer of chirality causes the morphological transition from metastable microspheres and microsheets to stable nanocoils. Importantly, the complex assembly pathways allow the living seeded self-assembly to yield single-handed nanocoils with controlled length, which may have promising applications in optoelectronics, fluorescent sensors, and biological imaging fields.

Morphogenesis and Optoelectronic Properties of Supramolecular Assemblies of Chiral Perylene Diimides in a Binary Solvent System

Chiral supramolecular structures are attracting great attention due to their specific properties and high potential in chiral sensing and separation. Herein, supramolecular assembling behaviors of chiral perylene diimides have been systematically investigated in a mixed solution of tetrahydrofuran and water. They exhibit remarkably different morphologies and chiral aggregation behaviors depending on the mixing ratio of the solvents, i.e., the fraction of water. The morphogenesis and optoelectronic properties of chiral supramolecular structures have been thoroughly studied using a range of experimental and theoretical methods to investigate the morphological effects of chiral supramolecular assemblies on the electrical performances and photogenerated charge-carrier behaviors. In addition, chiral perylene diimides have been discriminated by combining vibrational circular dichroism with theoretical calculations, for the first time. The chiral supramolecular nanostructures developed herein strongly absorb visible spectral region and exhibit high photoresponsivity and detectivity, opening up new opportunities for practical applications in optoelectronics.

Supramolecular Nanostructures of Chiral Perylene Diimides with Amplified Chirality for High-Performance Chiroptical Sensing.

Chiral supramolecular nanostructures with optoelectronic functions are expected to play a central role in many scientific and technological fields but their practical use remains in its infancy. Here, this paper reports photoconductive chiral organic semiconductors (OSCs) based on perylene diimides with the highest electron mobility among the chiral OSCs and investigates the structure and optoelectronic properties of their homochiral and heterochiral supramolecular assemblies from bottom-up self-assembly. Owing to the well-ordered supramolecular packing, the homochiral nanomaterials exhibit superior charge transport with significantly higher photoresponsivity and dissymmetry factor compared with those of their thin film and monomeric equivalents, which enables highly selective detection of circularly polarized light, for the first time, in visible spectral range. Interestingly, the heterochiral nanostructures assembled from co-self-assembly of racemic mixtures show extraordinary chiral self-discrimination phenomenon, where opposite enantiomeric molecules are packed alternately into heterochiral architectures, leading to completely different optoelectrical performances. In addition, the crystal structures of homochiral and heterochiral nanostructures have first been studied by ab initio X-ray powder diffraction analysis. These findings give insights into the structure-chiroptical property relationships of chiral supramolecular self-assemblies and demonstrate the feasibility of supramolecular chirality for high-performance chiroptical sensing.

Chiral Perylene Materials by Ionic Self-Assembly.

Two chiral complexes (1-SDS and 1-SDBS) were prepared via the ionic self-assembly of a chiral perylene diimide tecton with oppositely charged surfactants. The effect of surfactant tail architecture on the self-assembly properties and supramolecular structure was investigated in detail using UV-vis, IR, circular dichroism, light microscopy, X-ray diffraction studies, and electron microscopy. The results obtained revealed the molecular chirality of the parent perylene tecton could be translated into supramolecular helical chirality of the resulting complexes via primary ionic interactions through careful choice of solvent and concentration. Differing solvent-dependent aggregation behavior was observed for these complexes as a result of the different possible noncovalent interactions via the surfactant alkyl tails. The results presented in this study demonstrate that ionic self-assembly (ISA) is a facile strategy for the production of chiral supramolecular materials based on perylene diimides. The structure-function relationship is easily explored here due to the wide selection and easy availability of common surfactants.

Spontaneously bundled nanotubes exhibit greatly enhanced emission via inter-nanotube energy transfer

Spontaneously bundled nanotubes assembled from chiral perylene diimide molecules exhibit greatly enhanced emission via inter-nanotube excitation energy transfer. The formation of densely packed superstructures is an effective approach for high fluorescence quantum yield in assembled nanomaterials without compromising optoelectronic properties.

Circularly Polarized Luminescence of Chiral Perylene Diimide Based Enantiomers Triggered by Supramolecular Self-Assembly.

Two perylene diimide (PDI) enantiomers (d/l-PDI) incorporating the d/l-alanine moiety have been designed and synthesized. d/l-PDI in chloroform displays bright-yellow fluorescence that is redshifted to orange-red when the solvent contains a methanol fraction of 99 vol %. No circular dichroism (CD) or circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signals were observed for d/l-PDI enantiomers in CHCl3 . Interestingly, the d/l-PDI enantiomers exhibit clear mirror-image Cotton effects and CPL emission in the aggregate state. The optical anisotropy factor (glum ) is as high as 0.02 at fm =99 %, which can be attributed to self-assembly through intermolecular π-π interactions in the aggregate state.

A novel unsymmetrically substituted chiral amphiphilic perylene diimide: Synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties both in solution and solid state

A novel unsymmetrically substituted chiral amphiphilic perylene diimide with two different quaternary stereocenters was synthesized. For comparison, symmetrically substituted chiral perylene diimide containing the same quaternary stereocenters was prepared. The dehydroabietylamine was specifically selected in order to minimize stacking properties and maximize solubility. Intermolecular interactions kept under control via l-lysine moiety. The specific optical rotation ([α]D20,alpha) of symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted perylene dyes measured at 20 °C in chloroform as −105 and +200, respectively. Both of the compounds have excellent solubility in a wide range of organic solvents and symmetrically substituted chiral perylene diimide gives strong fluorescence emission (632 nm) in solid state. Concentration dependent self-aggregation of both compounds results in tunability of fluorescence emission. Compounds are thermally, photophysically and electrochemically stable.

Chiral perylene diimides: building blocks for ionic self-assembly.

A chiral perylene diimide building block has been prepared based on an amine derivative of the amino acid l‐phenylalanine. Detailed studies were carried out into the self‐assembly behaviour of the material in solution and the solid state using UV/Vis, circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. For the charged building block BTPPP, the molecular chirality of the side chains is translated into the chiral supramolecular structure in the form of right‐handed helical aggregates in aqueous solution. Temperature‐dependent UV/Vis studies of BTPPP in aqueous solution showed that the self‐assembly behaviour of this dye can be well described by an isodesmic model in which aggregation occurs to generate short stacks in a reversible manner. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction studies (WXRD) revealed that this material self‐organises into aggregates with π–π stacking distances typical for π‐conjugated materials. TEM investigations revealed the formation of self‐assembled structures of low order and with no expression of chirality evident. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarised optical microscopy (POM) were used to investigate the mesophase properties. Optical textures representative of columnar liquid–crystalline phases were observed for solvent‐annealed samples of BTPPP. The high solubility, tunable self‐assembly and chiral ordering of these materials demonstrate their potential as new molecular building blocks for use in the construction of chiro‐optical structures and devices.

Absorption, Circular Dichroism, and Photoluminescence in Perylene Diimide Bichromophores: Polarization-Dependent H- and J-Aggregate Behavior

Using a single-mode Holstein Hamiltonian with through-space excitonic couplings evaluated quantum mechanically, the absorption, circular dichroism, and photoluminescence spectral line shapes of a chiral perylene diimide dimer complex were accurately reproduced. In general, a dimer consisting of two chromophores related through a C(2) rotation is neither a J- nor an H-aggregate because oscillator strength is divided between the top and bottom of the exciton band. The division gives rise to the two Davydov components per vibronic band in the absorption spectrum. Nevertheless, it is shown that the vibronic structure of the absorption component polarized in the same direction as the lower (upper) Davydov component is identical to what one would obtain from an ideal J- (H-) aggregate. Emission generally contains both polarization components, but the component polarized in the same direction as the lower (upper) Davydov component behaves similarly to the emission from an ideal J- (H-) aggregate. The basic photophysical behavior also applies to molecular crystals containing two molecules per unit cell in which the interactions between inequivalent molecules dominate over interactions between equivalent molecules.