Ionic self-assembly for naphthalenediimides-based materials with designable opto-electrochemical properties

Abstract Naphthalenediimides-based supramolecular materials with well-defined microstructures have wide applications. In this article, ionic self-assembly strategy was firstly employed to construct various supramolecular architectures of naphthalenediimides. The co-assembly of an anionic naphthalenediimide derivative with cationic surfactants CnTAB (alkyltrimethylammonium bromide) can lead to the formation of spheres, rods, helical structures and sheets by varying the concentration of the two components and the chain length of surfactants. The electrostatic attraction, hydrophobic interaction and π-π stacking are supposed to be determining factors in the morphological evolution. The opto-electrochemical properties of the materials with different microstructures were further investigated to establish the structure-property correlations. Compared with the helical assemblies, sheet-like assemblies are proven to possess lower charge transfer resistance. In addition, assemblies with different morphologies also exhibit different photochromic behavior towards light. This research could provide a new way to construct naphthalenediimides-based functional materials with designable properties.