Raman study of the rigidity of penta-p-phenylene derivatives used as legs in molecular tripods

Molecular planarity of penta-p-phenylene (P5P) and several substituted derivatives with four side chains of various lengths, including deca(ethylene glycol) groups, is discussed by considering the changes in the intensity ratio between the Raman bands recorded at 1280 and 1220 cm(-1). The intensity ratio between both bands I(1280)/I(1220) shows a small increase with the size of the substituent, indicating a high rigidity for all these compounds, even those with long oligo(ethylene glycol) side chains. This result is important given that these phenylene derivatives are versatile building blocks for the construction of nanometric tripod-shaped adsorbates for biological applications since the side chains should prevent the nonspecific interaction with proteins.