Bulk Photovoltaic Effect Along the Nonpolar Axis in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskites.

The origin of the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) was considered as a built-in electric field formed by the macroscopic polarization of materials. Alternatively, the "shift current mechanism" has been gradually accepted as the more appropriate description of the BPVE. This mechanism implies that the photocurrent generated by the BPVE is a topological current featuring an ultrafast response and dissipation-less nature, which is very attractive for photodetector applications. Meanwhile, the origin of the BPVE in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) has not been discussed and is still widely accepted as the classical mechanism without any experimental evidence. Herein, we observed the BPVE along the nonpolar axis in OIHPs, which is inconsistent with the classical explanation. Furthermore, based on the nonlinear optical tensor correlation, we substantiated that the BPVE in OIHPs is originated in the shift current mechanism.

Delayed fluorescence from inverted singlet and triplet excited states.

Hund's multiplicity rule states that a higher spin state has a lower energy for a given electronic configuration1. Rephrasing this rule for molecular excited states predicts a positive energy gap between spin-singlet and spin-triplet excited states, as has been consistent with numerous experimental observations over almost a century. Here we report a fluorescent molecule that disobeys Hund's rule and has a negative singlet-triplet energy gap of -11 ± 2 meV. The energy inversion of the singlet and triplet excited states results in delayed fluorescence with short time constants of 0.2 µs, which anomalously decrease with decreasing temperature owing to the emissive singlet character of the lowest-energy excited state. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using this molecule exhibited a fast transient electroluminescence decay with a peak external quantum efficiency of 17%, demonstrating its potential implications for optoelectronic devices, including displays, lighting and lasers.

Chirality-Induced Magnetoresistance Due to Thermally Driven Spin Polarization.

Chirality-induced current-perpendicular-to-plane magnetoresistance (CPP-MR) originates from current-induced spin polarization in molecules. The current-induced spin polarization is widely recognized as a fundamental principle of chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS). In this study, we investigate chirality-induced current-in-plane magnetoresistance (CIP-MR) in a chiral molecule/ferromagnetic metal bilayer at room temperature. In contrast to CPP-MR, CIP-MR observed in the present study requires no bias charge current through the molecule. The temperature dependence of CIP-MR suggests that thermally driven spontaneous spin polarization in chiral molecules is the key to the observed MR. The novel MR is consistent with recent CISS-related studies, that is, chiral molecules in contact with a metallic surface possess a finite spin polarization.

Solvent-free autocatalytic supramolecular polymerization.

Solvent-free chemical manufacturing is one of the awaited technologies for addressing an emergent issue of environmental pollution. Here, we report solvent-free autocatalytic supramolecular polymerization (SF-ASP), which provides an inhibition-free template-assisted catalytic organic transformation that takes great advantage of the fact that the product (template) undergoes a termination-free nucleation-elongation assembly (living supramolecular polymerization) under solvent-free conditions. SF-ASP allows for reductive cyclotetramerization of hydrogen-bonding phthalonitriles into the corresponding phthalocyanines in exceptionally high yields (>80%). SF-ASP requires the growing polymer to form hexagonally packed crystalline fibres, which possibly preorganize the phthalonitriles at their cross-sectional edges for their efficient transformation. With metal oleates, SF-ASP produces single-crystalline fibres of metallophthalocyanines again in exceptionally high yields, which grow in both directions without terminal coupling until the phthalonitrile precursors are completely consumed. By taking advantage of this living nature of polymerization, multistep SF-ASP without/with metal oleates allows for the precision synthesis of multi-block supramolecular copolymers.

Azacalix[3]triazines: A Substructure of Triazine-Based Graphitic Carbon Nitride Featuring Anion-π Interactions.

Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) has garnered broad research interest due to its unique catalytic properties. However, GCN, prepared by general methods, possesses myriad structural defects and it has been difficult to elucidate their intrinsic physical properties. We report the development of azacalix[3]triazines (AC3Ts), a substructure of triazine-based GCN (Tz-GCN). Despite the electron-deficient natures of triazine, AC3Ts capture protons as organic superbases. We reveal the unique anion-π interactions of AC3Ts that alters the ionization potentials of AC3Ts. To the best of our knowledge, these features have not yet been recognized for Tz-GCN. These unveiled features of AC3Ts are expected to expand the usage scope and possibilities for GCNs.

A Design Principle for Polar Assemblies with C3 -Sym Bowl-Shaped π-Conjugated Molecules.

Polar materials attract wide research interest due to their unique properties, such as ferroelectricity and the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE), which are not accessible with nonpolar materials. However, in general, rationally designing polar materials is difficult because nonpolar materials are more favorable in terms of dipole-dipole interactions. Here, we report a rational strategy to form polar assemblies with bowl-shaped π-conjugated molecules and a molecular design principle for this strategy. We synthesized and thoroughly characterized 12 single crystals with the help of various theoretical calculations. Furthermore, we demonstrated that it can be possible to predict whether polar assemblies become more favorable or not by estimating their lattice energies. We believe that this study contributes to the development of organic polar materials and their related studies.

Noncentrosymmetric Columnar Liquid Crystals with the Bulk Photovoltaic Effect for Organic Photodetectors.

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) has drawn intensive attention due to its unique features that cannot be accessed with the conventional photovoltaic effect. However, the BPVE is observed in noncentrosymmetric materials and has been studied mainly for inorganic materials. Here, we report a simple subphthalocyanine (SubPc) derivative that assembles into a noncentrosymmetric columnar liquid crystal with the help of a DC E-field. These columnar assemblies exhibit the BPVE over a wide range of wavelengths up to 650 nm. Furthermore, just by sandwiching this columnar assembly between two ITO electrodes, the resultant device reaches a light-on/off ratio, Ilight/Idark, as high as 6.6 × 103, indicating that the polar columnar assemblies with SubPcs are promising for photodetectors.

Distinct Pathways in "Thermally Bisignate Supramolecular Polymerization": Spectroscopic and Computational Studies.

In general, supramolecular polymers are thermally labile in solution and easily depolymerized upon heating. This dynamic nature is beneficial in many aspects but limits certain applications. Recently, we developed "thermally bisignate supramolecular polymerization", through which a polymer is formed upon heating as well as cooling in a hydrocarbon solvent containing a small amount of alcohol. Here, we present a detailed mechanistic picture for this polymerization based on both spectroscopic and computational studies. For this particular type of polymerization, we mainly employed a copper porphyrin derivative ((S)PORCu) as a monomer with eight hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) amide units in its chiral side chains. Because of a strong multivalent interaction, the resulting supramolecular polymer displayed an extraordinarily high thermal stability in a hydrocarbon medium such as methylcyclohexane (MCH)/chloroform (CHCl3) (98/2 v/v; denoted as MCH*). However, when a small volume (<2.0 vol %) of ethanol (EtOH) was added to this solution at ambient temperatures as a H-bond scavenger, the supramolecular polymer dissociated into its monomers. Here, it should be noted that, both upon cooling (clustering of EtOH) and heating (lower-critical-solution-temperature behavior, LCST), the monomer was liberated from the H-bond scavenger and underwent supramolecular polymerization. In this Article, we conducted detailed spectroscopic studies, analyzed the results using theoretical models, and eventually succeeded in supporting the pathways explaining why the monomer deactivated by the H-bond scavenger turns active upon both heating and cooling. We also investigated the thermally bisignate nature of the supramolecular polymerization of other monomers such as triphenylamine ((S)TPA) and pyrene ((S)Py) derivatives together with free-base ((R)POR2H) and zinc porphyrin ((S)PORZn) derivatives and rationalized the large potential for this multicomponent supramolecular polymerization.

Functionalization of Azapentabenzocorannulenes by Fivefold C-H Borylation and Cross-Coupling Arylation: Application to Columnar Liquid-Crystalline Materials.

Herein, the one-shot fivefold functionalization of azapentabenzocorannulenes by an iridium-catalyzed fivefold C-H borylation reaction that exhibits excellent regioselectivity is reported. The borylated product can be used as a versatile synthetic intermediate for further derivatization via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. This fivefold borylation/arylation sequence was employed to synthesize liquid-crystalline azapentabenzocorannulenes with five 3,4,5-trialkoxyphenyl groups, which assemble into 1D hexagonal columnar structures over a wide temperature range. The present method expands the variety and utility of azapentabenzocorannulenes as promising π-conjugated cores.

Thermally bisignate supramolecular polymerization.

One of the enticing characteristics of supramolecular polymers is their thermodynamic reversibility, which is attractive, in particular, for stimuli-responsive applications. These polymers usually disassemble upon heating, but here we report a supramolecular polymerization that occurs upon heating as well as cooling. This behaviour arises from the use of a metalloporphyrin-based tailored monomer bearing eight amide-containing side chains, which assembles into a highly thermostable one-dimensional polymer through π-stacking and multivalent hydrogen-bonding interactions, and a scavenger, 1-hexanol, in a dodecane-based solvent. At around 50 °C, the scavenger locks the monomer into a non-polymerizable form through competing hydrogen bonding. On cooling, the scavenger preferentially self-aggregates, unlocking the monomer for polymerization. Heating also results in unlocking the monomer for polymerization, by disrupting the dipole and hydrogen-bonding interactions with the scavenger. Analogous to 'upper and lower critical solution temperature phenomena' for covalently bonded polymers, such a thermally bisignate feature may lead to supramolecular polymers with tailored complex thermoresponsive properties.

A design principle of polymers processable into 2D homeotropic order.

How to orient polymers homeotropically in thin films has been a long-standing issue in polymer science because polymers intrinsically prefer to lie down. Here we provide a design principle for polymers that are processable into a 2D homeotropic order. The key to this achievement was a recognition that cylindrical polymers can be designed to possess oppositely directed local dipoles in their cross-section, which possibly force polymers to tightly connect bilaterally, affording a 2D rectangular assembly. With a physical assistance of the surface grooves on Teflon sheets that sandwich polymer samples, homeotropic ordering is likely nucleated and gradually propagates upon hot-pressing towards the interior of the film. Consequently, the 2D rectangular lattice is constructed such that its b axis (side chains) aligns along the surface grooves, while its c axis (polymer backbone) aligns homeotropically on a Teflon sheet. This finding paves the way to molecularly engineered 2D polymers with anomalous functions.

An autonomous actuator driven by fluctuations in ambient humidity.

Devices that respond to negligibly small fluctuations in environmental conditions will be of great value for the realization of more sustainable, low-power-consumption actuators and electronic systems. Herein we report an unprecedented film actuator that seemingly operates autonomously, because it responds to the adsorption and desorption of a minute amount of water (several hundred nanograms per 10 mm(2)) possibly induced by fluctuations in the ambient humidity. The actuation is extremely rapid (50 ms for one curl) and can be repeated >10,000 times without deterioration. On heating or light irradiation, the film loses adsorbed water and bends quickly, so that it can jump vertically up to 10 mm from a surface or hit a glass bead. The film consists of a π-stacked carbon nitride polymer, formed by one-pot vapour-deposition polymerization of guanidinium carbonate, and is characterized by a tough, ultralightweight and highly anisotropic layered structure. An actuator partially protected against water adsorption is also shown to walk unidirectionally.

Dynamic propeller conformation for the unprecedentedly high degree of chiral amplification of supramolecular helices.

An unprecedentedly high degree of chiral amplification of supramolecular helices in a sergeants and soldiers system was realized using a propeller-shaped molecule, triphenylamine (TPA), as the monomer. One sergeant controlled the handedness of 500 soldiers in supramolecular helices. We further demonstrated that a TPA derivative could switch its role from sergeant to soldier and vice versa depending on its partners. These achievements could be realized using the dynamic propeller conformation of TPA and provide new insights into supramolecular assemblies and the supramolecular chiral amplification of helices.

Tailoring micrometer-long high-integrity 1D array of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in a nanotubular protein jacket and its lateral magnetic assembling behavior.

Tailoring of a micrometer-long one-dimensional (1D) array of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SNPs) was achieved by Mg(2+)-mediated supramolecular polymerization of a SNP-containing chaperonin protein (GroELMC⊃SNP). The inclusion complex GroELMC⊃SNP formed when ligand-modified SNPs were mixed with GroELMC, a GroEL mutant having multiple merocyanine (MC) units at its apical domains. Upon mixing with MgCl2 in phosphate buffer, GroELMC⊃SNP polymerized via the formation of multiple MC-Mg(2+)-MC coordination bonds, yielding thermodynamically stable micrometer-long nanotubes encapsulating 1D-arrayed SNPs (NTGroEL⊃SNP). When the NTGroEL⊃SNP nanotubes in phosphate buffer were incubated in a 0.5 T magnetic field, they began to assemble laterally and then organized into thick 1D bundles, where longer nanotubes were more preferentially incorporated. When the applied magnetic field was turned off, such bundles disassembled back to the individual 1D nanotubes. Lateral assembly of 1D SNP arrays in a magnetic field has been theoretically predicted but never been proven experimentally.

Noncovalent assembly. A rational strategy for the realization of chain-growth supramolecular polymerization.

Over the past decade, major progress in supramolecular polymerization has had a substantial effect on the design of functional soft materials. However, despite recent advances, most studies are still based on a preconceived notion that supramolecular polymerization follows a step-growth mechanism, which precludes control over chain length, sequence, and stereochemical structure. Here we report the realization of chain-growth polymerization by designing metastable monomers with a shape-promoted intramolecular hydrogen-bonding network. The monomers are conformationally restricted from spontaneous polymerization at ambient temperatures but begin to polymerize with characteristics typical of a living mechanism upon mixing with tailored initiators. The chain growth occurs stereoselectively and therefore enables optical resolution of a racemic monomer.

C5-symmetric chiral corannulenes: desymmetrization of bowl inversion equilibrium via "intramolecular" hydrogen-bonding network.

Because of a rapid conformational inversion, bowl-shaped C5-symmetric corannulenes, though geometrically chiral, have not been directly resolved into their enantiomers. However, if this inversion equilibrium can be desymmetrized, chiral corannulenes enriched in either enantiomer can be obtained. We demonstrated this possibility using pentasubstituted corannulenes 4 and 5 carrying amide-appended thioalkyl side chains. Compound 4 displays chiroptical activity in a chiral hydrocarbon such as limonene. Because compound 5 carries a chiral center in the side chains, its enantiomers 5R and 5S show chiroptical activity even in achiral solvents such as CHCl3 and methylcyclohexane. In sharp contrast, when the side chains bear no amide functionality (1 and 2R), no chiroptical activity emerges even in limonene or with a chiral center in the side chains. Detailed investigations revealed that the peripheral amide units in 4 and 5 are hydrogen-bonded only "intramolecularly" along the corannulene periphery, affording cyclic amide networks with clockwise and anticlockwise geometries. Although this networking gives rise to four stereoisomers, only two, which are enantiomeric to one another, are suggested computationally to exist in the equilibrated system. In a chiral environment (chiral solvent or side chain), their thermodynamic stabilities are certainly unequal, so the bowl-inversion equilibrium can be desymmetrized. However, this is not the case when the system contains a protic solvent that can deteriorate the hydrogen-bonding network. When the enantiomeric purity of limonene as the solvent is varied, the chiroptical activity of the corannulene core changes nonlinearly with its enantiomeric excess (majority rule).

High-optical-quality ferroelectric film wet-processed from a ferroelectric columnar liquid crystal as observed by non-linear-optical microscopy.

The self-organization of ferroelectric columnar liquid crystals (FCLCs) is demonstrated. Columnar order is spontaneously formed in thin films made by the wet-process due to its liquid crystallinity. Electric-field application results in high optical quality and uniform spontaneous polarization. Such good processability and controllability of the wet-processed FCLC films provide us with potential organic ferroelectric materials for device applications.

Cyclic block copolymers for controlling feature sizes in block copolymer lithography.

Block copolymer lithography holds promise as a next-generation technique to achieve the sub-20 nm feature sizes demanded by semiconductor roadmaps. While molecular weight and block immiscibility have traditionally been used to control feature size, this study demonstrates that macromolecular architecture is also a powerful tool for tuning domain spacing. To demonstrate this concept, a new synthetic strategy for cyclic block polymers based on highly efficient "click" coupling of difunctional linear chains is developed, and the thin film self-assembly of cyclic polystyrene-block-polyethylene oxide (cPS-b-PEO) is compared with the corresponding linear analogues. The reduced hydrodynamic radii of the cyclic systems result in ~30% decrease in domain spacing over the corresponding linear polymers.

Ferroelectric columnar liquid crystal featuring confined polar groups within core-shell architecture.

Ferroelectric liquid crystals are materials that have a remnant and electrically invertible polar order. Columnar liquid crystals with a ferroelectric nature have potential use in ultrahigh-density memory devices, if electrical polarization occurs along the columnar axis. However, columnar liquid crystals having an axial nonzero polarization at zero electric field and its electrical invertibility have not been demonstrated. Here, we report a ferroelectric response for a columnar liquid crystal adopting a core-shell architecture that accommodates an array of polar cyano groups confined by a hydrogen-bonded amide network with an optimal strength. Under an applied electric field, both columns and core cyano groups align unidirectionally, thereby developing an extremely large macroscopic remnant polarization.