A Cruciform Electron Donor–Acceptor Semiconductor with Solid‐State Red Emission: 1D/2D Optical Waveguides and Highly Sensitive/Selective Detection of H2S Gas. (2nd April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Luo, Hewei; Chen, Songjie; Liu, Zitong; Zhang, Chuang; Cai, Zhengxu; Chen, Xin; Zhang, Guanxin; Zhao, Yongsheng; Decurtins, Silvio; Liu, Shi‐Xia; Zhang, Deqing
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 24:Number 27(2014)
• Page Start: 4250
• Page End: 4258
• Publication Date: 2014-04-02
• Subjects: Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201304027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>In this paper, a new cruciform donor–acceptor molecule 2, 2'‐((5, 5'‐(3, 7‐dicyano‐2, 6‐bis(dihexylamino)benzo[1, 2‐b:4, 5‐b']difuran‐4, 8‐diyl)bis(thiophene‐5, 2‐diyl))bis (methanylylidene))dimalononitrile (<bold>BDFTM</bold>) is reported. The compound exhibits both remarkable solid‐state red emission and <italic>p</italic>‐type semiconducting behavior. The dual functions of <bold>BDFTM</bold> are ascribed to its unique crystal structure, in which there are no intermolecular face‐to‐face π–π interactions, but the molecules are associated by intermolecular CN…π and H‐bonding interactions. Firstly, <bold>BDFTM</bold> exhibits aggregation‐induced emission; that is, in solution, it is almost non‐emissive but becomes significantly fluorescent after aggregation. The emission quantum yield and average lifetime are measured to be 0.16 and 2.02 ns, respectively. Crystalline microrods and microplates of BDFTM show typical optical waveguiding behaviors with a rather low optical loss coefficient. Moreover, microplates of <bold>BDFTM</bold> can function as planar optical microcavities which can confine the emitted photons by the reflection at the crystal edges. Thin films show an air‐stable <italic>p</italic>‐type semiconducting property with a hole mobility up to 0.0015 cm<sup>2</sup>V<sup>−1</sup>s<sup>−1</sup>. Notably, an OFET with a thin film of <bold>BDFTM</bold> is successfully utilized for highly sensitive and selective detection of H<sub>2</sub>S gas (down to ppb levels).</p> </abstract>