Novel coronene-naphthalene dimide-based donor-acceptor pair for tunable charge-transfer nanostructures

Charge-transfer (CT) assemblies of aromatic donor (D) and acceptor (A) molecules have recently gained attention as a promising material for organic electronics and ferroelectrics. Two major factors which govern their functions are the strength of CT interaction and their supramolecular nanostructuring. Here we present coronene-naphthalenediimide (NDI)-based novel D-A pairs that form alternately stacked CT assemblies. Through systematic substitution of the NDI derivatives and studying their CT interactions with coronene, a clear understanding of the secondary forces responsible for controlling their association is gained. Finally, the use of CT-based supramolecular amphiphiles for their nanostructural engineering into ordered one-dimensional (1-D) assemblies is demonstrated.