Abstract
An azobenzene moiety rigidly linked to a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC) derivative has been switched optically between its trans- and cis-conformations in solution. Crystalline monolayers of the flat lying trans-conformer have been obtained at the interface between the basal plane of graphite and an organic solution. However, from the illuminated solution no cis-conformer was observed adsorbed to the interface, indicating that the resulting cis- conformer is not thermodynamically stable at this interface, possibly due to the competition with the coexisting trans-conformers. Therefore, two-dimensional honeycombs self-assembled from derivatives of three-fold symmetric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were investigated, which may be employed as templates, providing the necessary space for conformational switching of an azobenzene moiety, and tune the current–voltage characteristics through the aromatic cores. As a first step towards this goal, the capability of the template to host single molecular guests was studied by filling the voids with individual coronene molecules.
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Ai, M., Groeper, S., Zhuang, W. et al. Optical switching studies of an azobenzene rigidly linked to a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene derivative in solution and at a solid–liquid interface. Appl. Phys. A 93, 277–283 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-008-4871-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-008-4871-x