Subphthalocyanines (SubPcs)[1] are singular cone-shaped molecules with unique physicochemical properties that render them promising light-harvesting and/or donor units for photovoltaic and light-emitting applications. We were very interested in studying if such non-planar molecules with axial dipole moments could be self-assembled in columnar stacks, both in solution[2] and liquid-crystalline phases,[3,4] by hydrogen-bonding and p-p stacking interactions. The columnar aggregation of these molecules led to supramolecular chiral nanofibers and condensed phases that can be aligned in the presence of electric fields, yielding nanomaterials with permanent polarization and unusual ferroelectric and semiconducting properties.
[1] C. G. Claessens, D. González-Rodríguez, M. S. Rodríguez-Morgade, A. Medina, T. Torres, Chem. Rev. 2014, 114, 2192-2227. [2] J. Guilleme, M. J. Mayoral, J. Calbo, J. Aragó, P. M. Viruela, E. Ortí,
T. Torres, D. González-Rodríguez, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 2543 –2547. [3] J. Guilleme, J. Aragó, E. Ortí, E. Cavero, T. Sierra, J. Ortega, C. L. Folcia, J. Etxebarria, D. González-Rodríguez, T. Torres, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2015, 3, 985-989. [4] J. Guilleme, E. Cavero, T. Sierra, J. Ortega, C. L. Folcia, J. Etxebarria,
D. González-Rodríguez, T. Torres, submitted.