Fluorination-controlled supramolecular polymerization and piezoelectric behavior

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Organic Electronics

Background:

• Naphthalene-diimide (NDI) derivatives are crucial in organic electronics.
• Controlling supramolecular assembly is key to tuning material properties.
• Fluorine substitution is a common strategy to modify molecular behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of fluorine substitution on NDI derivatives.
• To understand the effect on supramolecular polymerization and piezoelectric response.
• To compare fluorine-substituted NDI (NDI-F) with its hydrogenated counterpart (NDI-H).

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of NDI-F and NDI-H derivatives.
• Characterization of crystallinity and thermal stability.
• Molecular dynamics simulations to probe intermolecular interactions.
• Measurement of piezoelectric coefficients.

Main Results:

• NDI-F exhibits enhanced crystallinity and thermal stability over NDI-H.
• Molecular dynamics simulations show C-H⋯F interactions stabilize NDI-F supramolecular polymers.
• NDI-F demonstrates a significantly higher piezoelectric coefficient (d33 ≈ 24 pm V⁻¹) than NDI-H.

Conclusions:

• Fluorine substitution effectively enhances supramolecular polymerization in NDI derivatives.
• The improved piezoresponse is attributed to stabilized supramolecular structures via C-H⋯F interactions.
• NDI-F presents a promising candidate for advanced piezoelectric applications.