4,5-Pyrenocyanine--just another phthalocyanine? A STM and 2D WAXS study

Pyrene-fused tetraazaporphyrins were synthesized from pyrene-4,5-dicarbonitrile precursors using a recently reported procedure as the key step for the asymmetric substitution of pyrene. Metal-free, zinc- and lead-centered pyrenocyanines were obtained and their optical properties as well as their molecular assembly in the solution and bulk phases and at the liquid/solid interface were studied. The characteristic Q-band appears broadened, most likely owing to distortion of the molecule introduced by the steric demand of the angularly extended aromatic residue. The angular annulation does not bathochromically shift the Q-band as far as would have been expected for the linear case. Peripheral substitution with linear and branched alkoxy chains affords solubility of the compounds in organic solvents. The influence of the distinct steric demand of the substituents on aggregation was investigated for metal-centered pyrenocyanines by using temperature-dependent (1)H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The self-assembly at the liquid/solid interface was studied using scanning tunneling microscopy. The alkoxy substituents facilitate the anchoring of these slightly non-planar molecules on the surface of graphite. Pyrenocyanine molecules form well-ordered 2D arrays in which the molecules are arranged in rows. The angular annulation of the pyrenocyanine residue leads to characteristic adsorption behavior at the liquid/solid interface, in which the molecules adsorb in two different adsorption geometries. The alkoxy side-chains give rise to a discotic columnar superstructure and induce distinct thermotropic behavior. Dependent on the steric demand of the branched chains and the central metal atom, the molecules are rotated with respect to each other to form helical organization.