Self-Assembly, Optical, and Electrical Properties of a Novel Water-Soluble Perylene Bisimide
AbstractHighly fluorescent and water-soluble N,N′-bis(2-((5-((dimethylamino)methyl) furan-2-yl)methylthio)ethyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide was synthesized, and characterized using various spectral techniques. The compound was highly fluorescent and exhibited strong absorption and emission in the visible spectral region. Computational studies predicted the highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital band gap as 1.96 eV. The molecule self-assembled into a novel ball-like structure unlike the expected one-dimensional nanowire or nanobelt of other perylene bisimides. Molecular geometry optimization and computational studies at density functional theory as well as semiempirical levels strongly supported the observed self-assembly.Graphical AbstractNew highly water-soluble N,N′-bis(2-((5-((dimethylamino)methyl)furan-2-yl) methylthio)ethyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide molecule self-assembled as globules through π-stacking and rolling of its polar tail.
