Search for: All records

Creating new chiral molecular and macromolecular systems that can polarize the spin of electrons has the dual promise of both applications in spintronics and a fundamental understanding of their origins. Here, we put forward two optically active helical ladder dimers from perylene diimide-based twistacenes and helicenes. We detail a scalable method to separate the helices for each of these systems and methods to functionalize them with thiol groups that allow for self-assembled monolayer formation on metal surfaces. We probed these monolayers with conductive atomic force microscopy, revealing that they are highly conductive. If the substrate is magnetized, then the current we measure with conductive atomic force microscopy is controlled by the handedness of the helices used to form the monolayers. Furthermore, helices of the same handedness for either the twistacene or helicene (right-handed helices vs left-handed helices) produce high (or low) currents in devices with the same magnetization. Importantly, we find a correlation between the magnetic field dependence of the conductivity and the helicity of the molecules, suggesting a link between these two properties, independent of the sign of their electronic circular dichroism. 

Abstract In this manuscript, we report the first demonstration of controlled helicity in extended graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). We present a wealth of new graphene nanoribbons that are a direct consequence of the high‐yielding and robust synthetic method revealed in this study. We created a series of defect‐free, ultralong, chiral cove‐edged graphene nanoribbons where helical twisting of the graphene nanoribbon backbone is tuned through functionalization with chiral side chains.S‐configured point chiral centers in the side chains transfer their chiral information to induce a helically chiral, right‐handed twist in the graphene nanoribbon. As the backbone is extended, these helically twisted graphene nanoribbons exhibit a substantial increase in their circular dichroic response. The longest variant synthesized consists of an average of 268 linearly fused rings, reaching 65 nm in average length with nearly 10 full end‐to‐end helical rotations. The structure exhibits an extraordinary |Δε| value of 6780 M⁻¹cm⁻¹at 550 nm—the highest recorded for an organic molecule in the visible wavelength range. This new chiroptic material acts as room‐temperature spin filters in thin films due to its chirality‐induced spin selectivity. 

Abstract Incorporating perylene diimide (PDI) units into helicene structures has become a useful strategy for giving access to non‐planar electron acceptors as well as a method of creating molecules with unique and intriguing chiroptical properties. This minireview describes this fusion of PDIs with helicenes.