Highly Ordered Supramolecular Materials of Phase-Separated Block Molecules for Long-Range Exciton Transport

Efficient energy transport over long distances is essential for optoelectronic and light-harvesting devices. Although self-assembled nanofibers of organic molecules are shown to exhibit long exciton diffusion lengths, alignment of these nanofibers into films with large, organized domains with similar properties remains a challenge. Here, it is shown how the functionalization of C-3-symmetric carbonyl-bridged triarylamine trisamide (CBT) with oligodimethylsiloxane (oDMS) side chains of discrete length leads to fully covered surfaces with aligned domains up to 125 x 70 mu m(2) in which long-range exciton transport takes place. The nanoscale morphology within the domains consists of highly ordered nanofibers with discrete intercolumnar spacings within a soft amorphous oDMS matrix. The oDMS prevents bundling of the CBT fibers, reducing the number of defects within the CBT columns. As a result, the columns have a high degree of coherence, leading to exciton diffusion lengths of a few hundred nanometers with exciton diffusivities (approximate to 0.05 cm(2) s(-1)) that are comparable to those of a crystalline tetracene. These findings represent the next step toward fully covered surfaces of highly aligned nanofibers through functionalization with oDMS.