Reproducibility and transferability of topological data: experimental charge density study of two modifications of L-alanyl-L-tyrosyl-L-alanine

Two crystalline modifications of the tripeptide L-Ala-L-Tyr-L-Ala, which have different solvent molecules in the crystal structure (water and ethanol for modifications 1 and 2), were the subject of experimental charge density studies based on high resolution X-ray data collected at ultra-low temperatures of 9 K (1) and 20 K (2), respectively. The molecular structures and the intermolecular interactions were found to be rather similar in the two crystal lattices, so that this study allowed the reproducibility of the charge density of a given molecule in different (but widely comparable) crystalline environments to be examined. With respect to bond topological and atomic properties, the agreement between the two modifications of the title tripeptide was in the same range as found from the comparison with the previously reported results of tri-L-alanine. It follows that the reproducibility and transferability of quantitative topological data are comparable and that within the accuracy of experimental charge density work the replacement of the central amino acid residue L-Ala by L-Tyr has no significant influence, neither on bond nor on the atomic properties of the oligopeptide main chain. Intermolecular interactions in the form of hydrogen bonds were characterized quantitatively and qualitatively by topological criteria and by mapping the charge density distribution on the Hirshfeld surface.     

Charge carrier mobilities in liquid crystalline mesomorphic poly(DI-n-Alkylsilylene)s; influence of backbone conformation

The charge transport properties of a series of symmetrically substituted mesomorphic poly(di-n-alkylsilylene)s are studied using the pulse-radiolysis time resolved microwave conductivity (PR-TRMC) technique. The observed conductivities for these polymers could be correlated with different backbone conformations present both in the crystalline solid phase and in the liquid crystalline mesophase. The transition from the solid phase to the mesophase is accompanied by a disordering of the silicon backbone that results in a decrease of the conductivity of up to two orders of magnitude. The charge carrier mobilities found varied from 5×10⁻⁵ m² /Vs for the all-trans conformation in the solid phase to 6×10⁻⁷ m² /Vs for the disordered backbone conformation in the mesophase. The anisotropic radiation-induced conductivity observed for aligned poly(di-n-hexylsilylene) samples demonstrate that charge carrier migration takes place preferentially in the direction of the polymer backbone.     

Self-assembly, molecular dynamics, and kinetics of structure formation in dipole-functionalized discotic liquid crystals

The self-assembly, the molecular dynamics, and the kinetics of structure formation are studied in dipole-functionalized hexabenzocoronene (HBC) derivatives. Dipole substitution destabilizes the columnar crystalline phase except for the dimethoxy- and monoethynyl-substituted HBCs that undergo a reversible transformation to the crystalline phase. The disk dynamics are studied by dielectric spectroscopy and site-specific NMR techniques that provide both the time-scale and geometry of motion. Application of pressure results in the thermodynamic phase diagram that shows increasing stability of the crystalline phase at elevated pressures. Long-lived metastability was found during the transformation between the two phases. These results suggest new thermodynamic and kinetic pathways that favor the phase with the highest charge carrier mobility.     

Crystalline Conjugated Polymers for Organic Solar Cells: From Donor,Acceptor to Single‐Component

Organic solar cells have made rapid progress in the last two decades due to the innovation of conjugated materials and photovoltaic devices. Microphase separation that connects with materials and devices plays a crucial role in the charge generation process. In this account, we summary our recent works of developing new crystalline conjugated polymers to control the microphase separation in thin films in order to realize high performance in solar cells, including crystalline diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based donor polymers, perylene bisimide‐based electron acceptors, and “double‐cable” conjugated polymers that contain covalently‐linked crystalline donor and acceptor in one material for single‐component organic solar cells.     

Comparative study of microscopic charge dynamics in crystalline acceptor-substituted oligothiophenes

By performing microscopic charge transport simulations for a set of crystalline dicyanovinyl-substituted oligothiophenes, we find that the internal acceptor-donor-acceptor molecular architecture combined with thermal fluctuations of dihedral angles results in large variations of local electric fields, substantial energetic disorder, and pronounced Poole-Frenkel behavior, which is unexpected for crystalline compounds. We show that the presence of static molecular dipoles causes large energetic disorder, which is mostly reduced not by compensation of dipole moments in a unit cell but by molecular polarizabilities. In addition, the presence of a well-defined π-stacking direction with strong electronic couplings and short intermolecular distances turns out to be disadvantageous for efficient charge transport since it inhibits other transport directions and is prone to charge trapping.     

新型液晶聚合物的分子设计及功能

介绍了新型液晶聚合物的分子设计方法；综述了利用分子间氢键，电荷转移相互作用和防子间相互作用设计得到的新型液晶聚合物复合体系的性质和功能，概述了液晶聚合物ＬＢ膜和液晶聚合物弹性体的分子排布特征和功能，这些研究开拓了液晶聚合物研究的新领域，为液晶聚合物分子排布的控制和功能性研究提供了新方法。     

Stepwise ordering of imidazolium-based cationic surfactants during cooling-induced crystallization

Surfactants bearing imidazolium cations represent a new class of building blocks in molecular self-assembly. These imidazolium-based cationic surfactants can exhibit various morphologies during phase transformations. In this work, we studied the self-assembly and phase behavior of 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C(16)mimCl) aqueous dispersions (0.5-10 wt %) by using isothermal titration calorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, synchrotron small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, freeze-fracture electron microscopy, optical microscopy, electrical conductance, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that C(16)mimCl in aqueous solutions can form two different crystalline phases. At higher C(16)mimCl concentrations (>6 wt %), the initial spherical micelles convert directly to the stable crystalline phase upon cooling. At lower concentrations (0.5 or 1 wt %), the micelles first convert to a metastable crystalline phase upon cooling and then transform to the stable crystalline phase upon further incubation at low temperature. The electrical conductance measurement reveals that the two crystalline phases have similar surface charge densities and surface curvatures. Besides, the microscopic and spectroscopic investigations of the two crystalline phases suggest that the metastable crystalline phase has preassembled morphology and a preordered submolecular packing state that contribute to the final stable crystalline structure. The formation of a preordered structure prior to the final crystalline state deepens our understanding of the crystallization mechanisms of common surfactants and amphiphilic ionic liquids and should thus be widely recognized and explored.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of water droplets on polymer surfaces

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the wetting of polymer surfaces with water. Contact angles of water droplets on crystalline and two amorphous polyethylene (PE) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) surfaces were extracted from atomistic simulations. Crystalline surfaces were produced by duplicating the unit cell of an experimental crystal structure, and amorphous surfaces by pressing the bulk polymer step by step at elevated temperature between two repulsive grid surfaces to a target density. Different-sized water droplets on the crystalline PE surface revealed a slightly positive line tension on the order of 10(-12)-10(-11) N, whereas droplets on crystalline PVC did not yield a definite line tension. Microscopic contact angles produced by the simple point charge (SPC) water model were mostly a few degrees smaller than those produced by the extended SPC model, which, as the model with lowest bulk energy, presents an upper boundary for contact angles. The macroscopic contact angle for the SPC model was 94 degrees on crystalline PVC and 113 degrees on crystalline PE. Amorphicity of the surface increased the water contact angle on PE but decreased it on PVC, for both water models. If the simulated contact angles on crystalline and amorphous surfaces are combined in proportion to the crystallinity of the polymer in question, simulated values in relatively good agreement with measured values are obtained.     

Molecular tectonics: from molecular recognition of anions to molecular networks

One may apply concepts developed in the context of molecular recognition of anions by synthetic receptors in solution to the design of molecular tectons capable of generating molecular networks with anionic species in the crystalline phase. With respect to that, bis-cyclic amidinium dications are interesting tectons because they offer two positive charges allowing strong electrostatic charge–charge interactions with anions and four acidic protons divergently oriented and capable of forming two sets of two H-bond chelates. The latter characteristic is of interest for the generation of supramolecular chirality taking place within the second coordination sphere around anionic metal complexes adopting an octahedral coordination geometry.     

溶胶-凝胶法制备LiCoPO4及其电化学性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法合成了高电位正极材料LiCoPO4,并通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)以及充放电测试考察了不同烧结条件下产物的晶体结构、微观形貌以及电化学性能.实验结果表明:在650°C下烧结12h所制备的样品为单一橄榄石型结构的LiCoPO4,产物颗粒细小(0.2-0.4μm)且分布均匀,同时具有最佳的电化学性能,其在1C倍率下的放电比容量可达到122.7mAh.g-1.此外,产物在充放电过程中均呈现两个电压平台,且随着放电倍率的增加,两个电压平台之间的区分逐渐明显,分析认为,这与充放电过程中锂离子的两步脱嵌行为有关.     

Influence of deep energetic levels on charge densities and capacitance of semiconductor/electrolyte interface

Charge density and space charge layer capacitance of semiconductor/electrolyte interface are determined by computational method in the case of crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous semiconductors with multiple deep energetic levels. These determinations are performed as a function of the difference of potential between the potential in the bulk of the electrode and the potential at a point x and especially at x = 0 which correspond to the potential at the SC/electrolyte interface. The investigation of the results allows proposing new and original relations describing the charge density for polycrystalline and amorphous semiconductors. The variation of the charge density is manifested by the existence of different regions where the ionization phenomenon of the donor states relative to the discrete and continuous levels is exhibited. The space charge layer capacitance determined from the charge density using Poisson’s equation is also analyzed as a function of the potential difference through the space charge layer for the different parameters characterizing the discrete and continuous levels in the case of the different semiconductors. For amorphous semiconductors, the charge density and the space charge layer capacitance are analyzed for two models of the density of states. The representation of the inverse square capacity shows a linear variation where straight lines with different slopes appear in low and high potential range indicating Mott-Schottky behaviour.     

Molecular ordering of photoreactive nonmesogenic 1,3,5-triazine compounds into columnar mesophases by charge transfer interaction

1,3,5-Triazine compounds having diacetylenic groups and their charge transfer complexes with 2,4,7-trinitrofluoren-9-one (TNF) were prepared. The morphological changes were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. Although the 1,3,5-triazine compounds did not exhibit a mesophase, the charge transfer (CT) complexes with various mole ratios of TNF assembled into liquid crystalline phases. The CT complexes were UV-irradiated in the liquid crystalline (LC) state to yield oligomers.     

Influence of Sequential Nitrogen Substitution on the Redox Properties of Bis(thiazolylidene)hydrazine and on the Charge Transfer of TCNQ Complexes

Various extended π-donor molecules incorporating an azino spacer between two heterocyclic moieties, either dithiole or thiazole rings, are described. As evidenced by cyclic voltammetric studies, the donor ability of these derivatives can be modulated depending on the nature of the two heterocycles. Three similar crystalline complexes were obtained with TCNQ and the donors 4, 7 and 8. Crystal structures and magnetic susceptibility data of these complexes are presented and the degree of charge transfer within these complexes has been correlated with the redox properties.     

Simulating charge transport in tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq(3))

We present a model of charge transport in organic solids which explicitly considers the packing and electronic structure of individual molecules. We simulate the time-of-flight mobility measurement in crystalline and disordered films of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq(3)). The morphology of disordered Alq(3) is modelled on a molecular scale, and density functional theory is used to determine the electronic couplings between molecules. Without any fitting parameters we predict electron mobilities in the crystalline and disordered phases of approximately 1 and approximately 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), respectively. In good agreement with experiment we find that electron mobilities are two orders of magnitude greater than those of holes. We explain this difference in terms of the spatial extent of the frontier orbitals. Our results suggest that charge transport in disordered Alq(3) is dominated by a few highly conducting pathways.     

A Dual Threat: Redox‐Activity and Electronic Structures of Well‐Defined Donor–Acceptor Fulleretic Covalent‐Organic Materials

The effect of donor (D)–acceptor (A) alignment on the materials electronic structure was probed for the first time using novel purely organic porous crystalline materials with covalently bound two‐ and three‐dimensional acceptors. The first studies towards estimation of charge transfer rates as a function of acceptor stacking are in line with the experimentally observed drastic, eight‐fold conductivity enhancement. The first evaluation of redox behavior of buckyball‐ or tetracyanoquinodimethane‐integrated crystalline was conducted. In parallel with tailoring the D‐A alignment responsible for “static” changes in materials properties, an external stimulus was applied for “dynamic” control of the electronic profiles. Overall, the presented D–A strategic design, with stimuli‐controlled electronic behavior, redox activity, and modularity could be used as a blueprint for the development of electroactive and conductive multidimensional and multifunctional crystalline porous materials.     

A comparative study of the properties of the liquid crystalline compounds 5O.5 and 5O.6 in solid,solution and thin film forms by laser Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopic studies of the liquid crystalline compounds 5O.5 and 5O.6 revealed that the two aromatic rings in the core are in different environments with distorted electron cloud distributions, and the behaviour of each of these rings is independent of the other. Increased chain length results in the development of strain on the molecules. During the SmF-SmB phase transition there is a slight transfer of charge, along with an increase in the freedom of the individual molecules. Our experiments also reveal that the molecules are strained in the crystalline state and adopt some preferred orientations in free-standing films. There is also a tendency towards the elongation of the molecules along the C=N- linkage in solution for 5O.6. Raman spectra of 5O.6 in free-standing films have shown dramatic changes compared with the spectra recorded in the bulk.     

A comparative study of the properties of the liquid crystalline compounds 5O.5 and 5O.6 in solid, solution and thin film forms by laser Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopic studies of the liquid crystalline compounds 5O.5 and 5O.6 revealed that the two aromatic rings in the core are in different environments with distorted electron cloud distributions, and the behaviour of each of these rings is independent of the other. Increased chain length results in the development of strain on the molecules. During the SmF-SmB phase transition there is a slight transfer of charge, along with an increase in the freedom of the individual molecules. Our experiments also reveal that the molecules are strained in the crystalline state and adopt some preferred orientations in free-standing films. There is also a tendency towards the elongation of the molecules along the C N linkage in solution for 5O.6. Raman spectra of 5O.6 in free-standing films have shown dramatic changes compared with the spectra recorded in the bulk.     

Liquid crystalline metal-free phthalocyanines designed for charge and exciton transport

A joint theoretical and experimental study of the electronic and structural properties of liquid crystalline metal-free phthalocyanines bearing a strong potential for charge and exciton transport has been performed. The synthesis of such compounds has been triggered by quantum chemical calculations showing that: (i) hole transport is favored in metal-free phthalocyanines by their extremely low reorganization energy (0.045 eV) and large electronic splittings; and (ii) the efficiency of energy transfer along the one-dimensional discotic stacks is weakly affected by rotational disorder due to the two-dimensional character of the molecules. We have synthesized two metal-free phthalocyanines with different branched aliphatic chains on the gram scale to allow for a full characterization of their solid-state properties. The two compounds self-organize in liquid crystalline mesophases, as evidenced by optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and molecular dynamics simulations. They exhibit a columnar rectangular mesophase at room temperature and a columnar hexagonal mesophase at elevated temperature.     

Thermotropic behavior of asymmetric chain length catanionic surfactants: the influence of the polar head group

Catanionic surfactants formed by the pairing of two ionic amphiphilic chains of opposite charge are now recognized as an important class of amphiphiles. Many aspects of their phase behavior have yet to be explored. In this work, two homologous series of catanionic surfactants were synthesized, based on the cationic headgroups trimethylammonium and pyridinium. Within each series, the headgroup and chain length of the cationic counterpart remains constant while for the anionic counterpart the headgroup is varied, while its alkyl chain length is also kept constant. Thus, one can directly monitor the influence of headgroup chemistry on the thermal behavior of these compounds. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing light microscopy show that these compounds bear a rich and often complex thermotropic behavior, with the headgroup chemistry in some instances having a rather dramatic influence on phase behavior. Several liquid crystalline phases appear between the solid crystalline phase and the isotropic liquid phase. A qualitative correlation between the observed thermotropic behavior and the chemical nature of headgroup is presented.     

Acid Exfoliation of Imine‐linked Covalent Organic Frameworks Enables Solution Processing into Crystalline Thin Films

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are highly modular porous crystalline polymers that are of interest for applications such as charge‐storage devices, nanofiltration membranes, and optoelectronic devices. COFs are typically synthesized as microcrystalline powders, which limits their performance in these applications, and their limited solubility precludes large‐scale processing into more useful morphologies and devices. We report a general, scalable method to exfoliate two‐dimensional imine‐linked COF powders by temporarily protonating their linkages. The resulting suspensions were cast into continuous crystalline COF films up to 10 cm in diameter, with thicknesses ranging from 50 nm to 20 μm depending on the suspension composition, concentration, and casting protocol. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the film fabrication process proceeds through a partial depolymerization/repolymerization mechanism, providing mechanically robust films that can be easily separated from their substrates.