Tweaking the Optoelectronic Properties of S-Doped Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Chemical Oxidation.

Peri-thiaxanthenothiaxanthene, an S-doped analog of peri-xanthenoxanthene, is used as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) scaffold to tune the molecular semiconductor properties by editing the oxidation state of the S-atoms. Chemical oxidation of peri-thiaxanthenothiaxanthene with H2 O2 led to the relevant sulfoxide and sulfone congeners, whereas electrooxidation gave access to sulfonium-type derivatives forming crystalline mixed valence (MV) complexes. These complexes depicted peculiar molecular and solid-state arrangements with face-to-face π-π stacking organization. Photophysical studies showed a widening of the optical bandgap upon progressive oxidation of the S-atoms, with the bis-sulfone derivative displaying the largest value (E00 =2.99 eV). While peri-thiaxanthenothiaxanthene showed reversible oxidation properties, the sulfoxide and sulfone derivatives mainly showed reductive events, corroborating their n-type properties. Electric measurements of single crystals of the MV complexes exhibited a semiconducting behavior with a remarkably high conductivity at room temperature (10-1 -10-2  S cm-1 and 10-2 -10-3  S cm-1 for the O and S derivatives, respectively), one of the highest reported so far. Finally, the electroluminescence properties of the complexes were tested in light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), obtaining the first S-doped mid-emitting PAH-based LECs.

Quantum spin-liquid states in an organic magnetic layer and molecular rotor hybrid.

The exotic properties of quantum spin liquids (QSLs) have continually been of interest since Anderson's 1973 ground-breaking idea. Geometrical frustration, quantum fluctuations, and low dimensionality are the most often evoked material's characteristics that favor the long-range fluctuating spin state without freezing into an ordered magnet or a spin glass at low temperatures. Among the few known QSL candidates, organic crystals have the advantage of having rich chemistry capable of finely tuning their microscopic parameters. Here, we demonstrate the emergence of a QSL state in [EDT-TTF-CONH2]2 +[[Formula: see text]] (EDT-BCO), where the EDT molecules with spin-1/2 on a triangular lattice form layers which are separated by a sublattice of BCO molecular rotors. By several magnetic measurements, we show that the subtle random potential of frozen BCO Brownian rotors suppresses magnetic order down to the lowest temperatures. Our study identifies the relevance of disorder in the stabilization of QSLs.

O-Doped Nanographenes: A Pyrano/Pyrylium Route Towards Semiconducting Cationic Mixed-Valence Complexes.

Herein we report an efficient synthesis to prepare O-doped nanographenes derived from the π-extension of pyrene. The derivatives are highly fluorescent and feature low oxidation potentials. Using electrooxidation, crystals of cationic mixed-valence (MV) complexes were grown in which the organic salts organize into face-to-face π-stacks, a favorable solid-state arrangement for organic electronics. Variable-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements and relaxation studies suggest a strong electron delocalization along the longitudinal axis of the columnar π-stacking architectures. Electric measurements of single crystals of the MV salts show a semiconducting behavior with a remarkably high conductivity at room temperature. These findings support the notion that π-extension of heteroatom-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is an attractive approach to fabricate nanographenes with a broad spectrum of semiconducting properties and high charge mobilities.

Static Modulation Wave of Arrays of Halogen Interactions Transduced to a Hierarchy of Nanoscale Change Stimuli of Crystalline Rotors Dynamics.

Here we present a study where what can be seen as a static modulation wave encompassing four successive arrays of interacting iodine atoms in crystalline 1,4-Bis((4'-(iodoethynyl)phenyl) ethynyl)bicyclo[2,2,2]octane rotors changes the structure from one-half molecule to three-and-a-half molecules in the asymmetric unit below a phase transition at 105 K. The remarkable finding is that the total 1H spin-lattice relaxation rate, T1-1, of unprecedented complexity to date in molecular rotors, is the weighted sum of the relaxation rates of the four contributing rotors relaxation rates, each with distinguishable exchange frequencies reflecting Arrhenius parameters with different activation barriers ( Ea) and attempt frequencies (τo-1). This allows us to show in tandem with rotor-environment interaction energy calculations how the dynamics of molecular rotors are able to decode structural information from their surroundings with remarkable nanoscale precision.

Tetrathiafulvalene-[2.2]paracyclophanes: Synthesis, crystal structures, and chiroptical properties.

Two racemic tetrathiafulvalene-[2.2]paracyclophane electron donors EDT-TTF-[2.2]paracyclophane 1 and (COOMe)2 -TTF-[2.2]paracyclophane 2 have been synthesized via the phosphite mediated cross coupling strategy. Chiral HPLC allowed the optical resolution of the (RP ) and (SP ) enantiomers for both compounds. Solid-state structures of (RP )-1 and (rac)-2 have been determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. Intermolecular π-π and S•••S interactions are disclosed in the packing. Single crystal X-ray analysis of (RP )-1 combined with experimental and theoretical circular dichroism spectra allowed the assignment of the absolute configuration of the enantiomers of 1 and 2.

Weaving Nanoscale Cloth through Electrostatic Templating.

Here we disclose a simple route to nanoscopic 2D woven structures reminiscent of the methods used to produce macroscopic textiles. We find that the same principles used in macroscopic weaving can be applied on the nanoscale to create two-dimensional molecular cloth from polymeric strands, a molecular thread. The molecular thread is composed of Co6Se8(PEt3)4L2 superatoms that are bridged with L = benzene bis-1,4-isonitrile to form polymer strands. As the superatoms that make up the polymer chain are electrochemically oxidized, they are electrostatically templated by a nanoscale anion, the tetragonal Lindqvist polyoxometalate Mo6O192-. The tetragonal symmetry of the dianionic template creates a nanoscale version of the box weave. The crossing points in the weave feature π-stacking of the bridging linker. By examining the steps in the weaving process with single crystal X-ray diffraction, we find that the degree of polymerization at the crossing points is crucial in the cloth formation. 2D nanoscale cloth will provide access to a new generation of smart, multifunctional materials, coatings, and surfaces.

Design and evaluation of a crystalline hybrid of molecular conductors and molecular rotors.

Combining recent concepts from the fields of molecular conductivity and molecular machinery we set out to design a crystalline molecular conductor that also possesses a molecular rotor. We report on the structures, electronic and physical properties, and dynamics of two solids with a common 1,4-bis(carboxyethynyl)bicyclo[2.2.2]octane (BABCO) functional rotor. One, [nBu(4)N(+)](2)[BABCO][BABCO(-)](2), is a colorless insulator where the dicarboxylic acid cocrystallizes with two of its monoanionic conjugated bases. The other is self-assembled by electrocrystallization in the form of black, shiny needles, with highly conducting molecular slabs of (EDT-TTF-CONH(2))(2)(+) (EDT-TTF = ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene) and anionic [BABCO(-)] rotors. Using variable-temperature (5-300 K) proton spin-lattice relaxation, (1)H T(1)(-1), we were able to assign two types of Brownian rotators in [nBu(4)N(+)](2)[BABCO][BABCO(-)](2). We showed that neutral BABCO groups have a rotational frequency of 120 GHz at 300 K with a rotational barrier of 2.03 kcal mol(-1). Rotors on the BABCO(-) sites experience stochastic 32 GHz jumps at the same temperature over a rotational barrier of 2.72 kcal mol(-1). In contrast, the BABCO(-) rotors within the highly conducting crystals of (EDT-TTF-CONH(2))(2)(+)[BABCO(-)] are essentially "braked" at room temperature. Notably, these crystals possess a conductivity of 5 S cm(-1) at 1 bar, which increases rapidly with pressure up to 50 S cm(-1) at 11.5 kbar. Two regimes with different activation energies E(a) for the resistivity (180 K above 50 and 400 K below) are observed at ambient pressure; a metallic state is stabilized at ca. 8 kbar, and an insulating ground state remains below 50 K at all pressures. We discuss two likely channels by which the motion of the rotors might become slowed down in the highly conducting solid. One is defined as a low-velocity viscous regime inherent to a noncovalent, physical coupling induced by the cooperativity between five C(sp3)-H···O hydrogen bonds engaging any rotor and five BABCO units in its environment. The rotational barrier calculated with the effect of this set of hydrogen bonds amounts to 7.3 kcal mol(-1). Another is quantum dissipation, a phenomenon addressing the difference of dynamics of the rotors in the two solids with different electrical properties, by which the large number of degrees of freedom of the low dimensional electron gas may serve as a bath for the dissipation of the energy of the rotor motion, the two systems being coupled by the Coulomb interaction between the charges of the rotors (local moments and induced dipoles) and the charges of the carriers.

A neutral zwitterionic molecular solid.

We report on the acid ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvaleneamidoglycine (EDT-TTF-CO-NH-CH(2)-CO(2)H; 1; EDT-TTF=ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene) and the 1:1 adduct [(EDT-TTF)(·+)-CO-NH-CH(2)-(CO(2))(-)][(EDT-TTF)-CO-NH-CH(2)-(CO(2)H)]·CH(3)OH (2), a new type of hydrogen-bonded, 1:1 acid/zwitterion hybrid embrace of redox peptidics into a two-dimensional architecture, an example of a system deliberately fashioned so that oxidation of π-conjugated cores toward the radical-cation form would interfere with the activity of the appended ionizable residues in the presence of a templating base during crystal growth. First-principles calculations demonstrate that, notwithstanding preconceived ideas, a metallic state is more stable than the hole-localized alternatives for a neat 1:1 neutral acid/zwitterion hybrid. The inhomogeneous Coulomb field associated with proton-shared, interstacks O-H···O hydrogen bonds between the ionizable residues distributed on both sides of the two-dimensional π-conjugated framework leads, however, to a weak hole localization responsible for the activated but high conductivity of 1 S cm(-1). This situation is reminiscent of the role of the environment on electron transfer in tetraheme cytochrome c, in which the protonation state of a heme propionate becomes paramount, or ion-gated transport phenomena in biology. These observations open rather intriguing opportunities for the construction of electronic systems at the interface of chemistry and biology.

Conservation of structural arrangements and 3 : 1 stoichiometry in a series of crystalline conductors of TMTTF, TMTSF, BEDT-TTF, and chiral DM-EDT-TTF with the oxo-bis[pentafluorotantalate(v)] dianion.

The occurrence of isostructural conducting radical cation salts of diversely substituted tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) precursors with the same anion is most often limited to very similar derivatives such as tetramethyl-tetrathiafulvalene (TMTTF) and tetramethyl-tetraselenafulvalene (TMTSF). Here we show that the use of the oxo-bis[pentafluorotantalate(v)] dianion [Ta2F10O]2- affords upon electrocrystallization of TMTTF, TMTSF, bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF), racemic dimethyl-ethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalene ((rac)-DM-EDT-TTF), and enantiopure (S,S)-DM-EDT-TTF a series of mixed valence crystalline radical cation salts with the same 3 : 1 stoichiometry. The donor layers show similar features in the five materials, such as alternation of trimeric units within stacks which arrange in parallel columns of ß-type. The anion arranges either parallel or perpendicular to the stack direction and establishes numerous intermolecular CH⋯F hydrogen bonds. Thus, the [Ta2F10O]2- dianion, most likely because of its shape and propensity to engage in hydrogen bonding, is the first one to be able to induce the same type of structural arrangement for a broad series of different donors, a result which is important in the crystal engineering of molecular conductors. All the compounds are band gap semiconductors, according to single crystal resistivity measurements and extended Hückel band structure calculations. The room temperature conductivity values are relatively high, i.e. 0.25-1.1 S cm-1, except for the TMTTF salt, whose conductivity value is two orders of magnitude smaller than its isostructural TMTSF counterpart, in agreement with the band gap energy value. As a general feature of these materials, variations in the inter- and intra-trimer interactions modulate their band structure, i.e. energy dispersion and band gaps. The preparation of this series of radical cation salts with a sturdy 3 : 1 stoichiometry might question previous assignments of the anion as [Ta2F11]- in radical cation salts of TMTSF and BEDT-TTF.

In Search of Chiral Molecular Superconductors: κ-[(S,S)-DM-BEDT-TTF]2 ClO4 Revisited.

The relationship between chirality and superconductivity is an intriguing question. The two enantiomeric crystalline radical cation salts κ-[(S,S)-DM-BEDT-TTF]2 ClO4 and κ-[(R,R)-DM-BEDT-TTF]2 ClO4 , showing κ-type arrangement of the organic layers, are investigated in search for superconducting chiral molecular materials following a 1992 report indicating the occurrence of a superconducting transition in the former compound. While the initial interpretation is presently challenged through in-depth temperature and pressure dependent single crystal resistivity measurements combined with band structure calculations, the two chiral conductors show metal like behavior with room temperature conductivities of 10-30 S cm-1 at ambient pressure and stabilization of the metallic state down to the lowest temperatures under moderate pressures. Moreover, their structural and theoretical investigations reveal an original feature, namely the existence of two different κ layers with 1D and 2D electronic dimensionality, respectively, as a consequence of an interlayer charge transfer. The resistivity drop observed for one sample below 1 K and insensitive to magnetic field, possibly results from mixing in-plane and out-of-plane contributions to the measured resistance and suggests current induced charge order melting. This feature contradicts the occurrence of superconductivity in these chiral molecular conductors and leaves open the discovery of the first chiral molecular superconductors.

Asymmetric Choreography in Pairs of Orthogonal Rotors.

An asymmetric mechanism for correlated motion occurring in noninteracting pairs of adjacent orthogonal 1,4-bis(carboxyethynyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) rotators 1 in the solid state is unraveled and shown to play an important role in understanding the dynamics in the crystalline rotor, Bu4N+[1-]·H2O. Single crystal X-ray diffraction and calculation of rotor-rotor interaction energies combined with variable-temperature, variable-field 1H spin-lattice relaxation experiments led to the identification and microscopic rationalization of two distinct relaxation processes.

Balancing framework densification with charged, halogen-bonded-pi-conjugated linkages: [PPh4]2{[E-TTF-I2][Re6Se8(CN)6]} versus [PPh4]2[EDT-TTF-I]2{[EDT-TTF-I][Re6Se8(CN)6]}.

The ionic character of a set of two redox linkages and strong, directional halogen bonding at the organic-inorganic interface compromise to produce two materials sharing a common two-dimensional net, eventually extended in a third dimension, although two of the six symmetrical halogen bond acceptors ultimately remain uninvolved as a result of charge densification.

Crystal structure of tetra-methyl-tetra-thia-fulvalenium (1S)-camphor-10-sulfonate dihydrate.

Electro-oxidation of tetra-methyl-tetra-thia-fulvalene (TMTTF) in the presence of the chiral anion (1S)-camphor-10-sulfonate (S-camphSO3 (-)) in tetra-hydro-furan/water medium afforded a 1/1 salt formulated as TMTTF·S-camphSO3·2H2O or 2-(4,5-dimethyl-1,3-di-thiol-2-yl-idene)-4,5-dimethyl-1,3-di-thiole radical ion (1+) [(1S)-7,7-dimethyl-2-oxobi-cyclo-[2.2.1]heptan-1-yl]methane-sulfonate dihydrate, C10H12S4 (+)·C10H15O4S(-)·2H2O. In this salt, two independent TMTTF units are present but, in both cases, the observed bond lengths and especially the central C=C distance [1.392 (6) and 1.378 (6) Å] are in agreement with a complete oxidation of TMTTF which is thus present as TMTTF (.) (+) radical cations. These cations form one-dimensional stacks in which they are associated two by two, forming dimers with short [3.472 (1) to 3.554 (2) Å] S⋯S contacts. The two S-camphSO3 anions present also form stacks and are connected with each other via the water mol-ecules with many O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds ranging from 1.86 (3) to 2.15 (4) Å; the O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding network can be described as being constituted of C 2 (2)(6) chains bearing R 3 (3)(11) lateral rings. On the other hand, the columns of cations and anions are connected through C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a system expanding in three directions; finally, the result is a three-dimensional network of O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Superconducting fluctuations in organic molecular metals enhanced by Mott criticality.

Unconventional superconductivity typically occurs in materials in which a small change of a parameter such as bandwidth or doping leads to antiferromagnetic or Mott insulating phases. As such competing phases are approached, the properties of the superconductor often become increasingly exotic. For example, in organic superconductors and underdoped high-T(c) cuprate superconductors a fluctuating superconducting state persists to temperatures significantly above T(c). By studying alloys of quasi-two-dimensional organic molecular metals in the κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X family, we reveal how the Nernst effect, a sensitive probe of superconducting phase fluctuations, evolves in the regime of extreme Mott criticality. We find strong evidence that, as the phase diagram is traversed through superconductivity towards the Mott state, the temperature scale for superconducting fluctuations increases dramatically, eventually approaching the temperature at which quasiparticles become identifiable at all.

3-Methylamido-3',4'-ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene(+) potassium tetraisothiocyanatomercury(II).

In the title compound, (C(10)H(9)NOS(6))K[Hg(SCN)(4)] or (EDT-TTF-CONHMe)K[Hg(SCN)(4))], fully oxidized organic (EDT-TTF-CONHMe)(+.) radical cations form quasi-one-dimensional stacks running along the monoclinic 2(1) axis and alternating along the crystallographic [101] direction with inorganic anion stacks made from mixed K(+)-[Hg(SCN)(4)](2-) ribbons. For each anion, three essentially collinear SCN ligands interact with the K(+) ions via short N...K contacts, while the terminal N atom of the fourth SCN group is engaged in a number of hydrogen-bond contacts with the -CH, -NH and -CH(2) hydrogen-bond donors of the amide function. Radical cations are dimerized along the stacks and the crystal conductivity is activated.