Effects of odd-even side chain length of alkyl-substituted diphenylbithiophenes on first monolayer thin film packing structure
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Because of their preferential two-dimensional layer-by-layer growth in thin films, 5,5′bis(4-alkylphenyl)-2,2′-bithiophenes (P2TPs) are model compounds for studying the effects of systematic chemical structure variations on thin-film structure and morphology, which in turn, impact the charge transport in organic field-effect transistors. For the first time, we observed, by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD), a strong change in molecular tilt angle in a monolayer of P2TP, depending on whether the alkyl chain on the P2TP molecules was of odd or even length. The monolayers were deposited on densely packed ultrasmooth self-assembled alkane silane modified SiO2 surfaces. Our work shows that a subtle change in molecular structure can have a significant impact on the molecular packing structure in thin film, which in turn, will have a strong impact on charge transport of organic semiconductors. This was verified by quantum-chemical calculations that predict a corresponding odd-even effect in the strength of the intermolecular electronic coupling.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 11006-11014 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
Volume | 135 |
Issue number | 30 |
Publication status | Published - 31 Jul 2013 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
Externally published | Yes |