Frustrated Layered Self-Assembly Induced Superlattice from TwoDimensional Nanosheets
Huanjun Lu1,&, Xiaoyan Zhang2,&, Tsuneaki Sakurai3, Xiaohong Li1, Yingfeng Tu1,*（屠迎锋）, Jun Guo4, Shu Seki3, Christopher Y. Li5, Goran Ungar6,7,*, and Stephen Z. D. Cheng8,9
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
2 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
3 Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
4Testing and Analysis Center, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
6State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Shanxi International Research Center for Soft Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
7Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, United Kingdom
8South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Molecular Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
9Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States
&H.L. and X.Z. contributed equally.
Nano Lett. 2020, 20, 8647--8653
Here we reported a hierarchical self-assembly approach toward well-defined superlattices in supramolecular liquid crystals by fullerene-based sphere–cone block molecules. The fullerenes crystallize to form monolayer nanosheets intercalated by the attached soft hydrocarbon cones. The frustration caused by cross-sectional area mismatch between the spheres and the somewhat oversize cones leads to a unique lamellar superlattice whereby each stack of six pairs of alternating sphere–cone sublayers is followed by a cone double layer. While such areal mismatch problems in soft matter are usually solved by interface curvature, the lamellar superlattice solution is best suited to systems with rigid layers. Meanwhile, formation of the superlattice significantly improves the material’s transient electron conductivity, with the maximum value being among the highest for π-conjugated organic materials. The design principle of solving steric frustration by forming a superlattice opens a new avenue toward self-assembled optoelectronic materials.
链接：https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c03352
