The synthesis of a new series of mixed phenylene-thiophene oligomers is reported; 2,5-bis(4-n-hexylphenyl)thiophene (dH-PTP, 1), 5,5'-bis(4-n-hexylphenyl)-2,2'-bithiophene (dH-PTTP, 2), 5,5' '-bis(4-n-hexylphenyl)-2,2':5',2' '-terthiophene (dH-PT(3)P, 3), 5,5' "-bis(4-n-hexylphenyl)-2,2':5',2' ':5' ',2' "-quaterthiophene (dH-PT(4)P, 4), 1,4-bis[5-(4-n-hexylphenyl)-2-thienyl]benzene (dH-PTPTP, 5), and 2,5-bis[4(4'-n-hexylphenyl)phenyl]thiophene (dH-PPTPP, 6) were characterized by (1)H NMR, elemental analysis, UV-visible spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. Vacuum-evaporated and solution-cast films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. All compounds display high p-type carrier mobilities as evaporated (up to 0.09 cm(2)/Vs) and as solution-cast (up to 0.03 cm(2)/Vs) films on both Si/SiO(2) and ITO/GR (glass resin) substrates. The straightforwardly synthesized dH-PTTP (2) displays an unprecedented combination of mobility, on/off ratio, stability, and processability. Both dH-PTTP (2) and dH-PPTPP (6) display a reversible, tunable, and stable memory effect even as solution-cast devices, with turn-on characteristics shifting from accumulation mode to zero or depletion mode after a writing voltage V(w) is applied. The charge storage is distributed over the gate dielectric structure and is concentrated near the dielectric-semiconductor interface, as evidenced by the response of "floating gate" configuration devices. Simple nonvolatile elements have been fabricated by solution-only techniques on ITO substrates using spin-coated glass resin, solution-cast oligomeric semiconductors, and painted graphite paste electrodes.

We have grown well-ordered graphene adlayers on the lattice-matched Co(0001) surface. Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy measurements demonstrate an on-top registry of the carbon atoms with respect to the Co(0001) surface. The tunneling conductance spectrum shows that the electronic structure is substantially altered from that of isolated graphene, implying a strong coupling between graphene and cobalt states. Calculations using density functional theory confirm that structures with on-top registry have the lowest energy and provide clear evidence for strong electronic coupling between the graphene pi-states and Co d-states at the interface.

This work details a method to make efficacious field-effect transistors from monolayers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are able to sense and respond to their chemical environment. The molecules used in this study are functionalized so that they assemble laterally into columns and attach themselves to the silicon oxide surface of a silicon wafer. To measure the electrical properties of these monolayers, we use ultrasmall point contacts that are separated by only a few nanometers as the source and drain electrodes. These contacts are formed through an oxidative cutting of an individual metallic single-walled carbon nanotube that is held between macroscopic metal leads. The molecules assemble in the gap and form transistors with large current modulation and high gate efficiency. Because these devices are formed from an individual stack of molecules, their electrical properties change significantly when exposed to electron-deficient molecules such as tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), forming the basis for new types of environmental and molecular sensors.chemistry ͉ electronic materials ͉ nanoscience ͉ self-assembly T his work details a method to make chemoresponsive transistors by making devices out of a monolayer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are chemically attached to surfaces. The devices are formed through a self-assembly process of organic semiconductors on the oxide surface of a silicon wafer (Fig. 1A) (1, 2). Previous studies on organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) (3, 4) have shown that the path for electrical current is through at most the first few layers of molecules at the oxide interface (5-7). In general, when the semiconducting layers of typical OFETs are scaled down to a monolayer, their properties become poor, presumably due to discontinuities or defects in the films (8-11). The strategy used here circumvents this problem by a chemical functionalization of the molecular semiconductors ( Fig. 1B) so that they both assemble laterally and chemically attach themselves to the substrate (Fig. 1C). The important result is that when ultrasmall point contacts separated by molecular length-scales are used as the source and drain (S͞D) electrodes, transistors can be made that have high gate efficiency and large ON͞OFF ratios from only a monolayer of molecules. The electrical properties of these monolayers are responsive to electron acceptors such as tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). Results and DiscussionDevice Fabrication. We first describe the devices used to measure the properties of the monolayers and then the structural and electrical characterization of these monolayers. Fig. 2 shows a schematic and micrograph of the devices used. Au (50 nm) on Cr (5 nm) pads, which are separated by 20 m, form the contact to an individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). The nanotubes were grown by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process described elsewhere (12, 13). The nanotube is then oxidatively cut by using an ultrafine lithographic process that produces a very small gap between the nan...

This study explores the assembly in the crystalline state of a class of pentacenes that are substituted along their long edges with aromatic rings forming rigid, cruciform molecules. The crystals were grown from the gas phase, and their structures were compared with DFT-optimized geometries. Both crystallographic and computed structures show that a planar acene core is the exception rather than the rule. In the assembly of these molecules, the phenyl groups block the herringbone motif and further guide the arrangement of the acene core into higher order structures. The packing for the phenyl-substituted derivatives is dictated by close contacts between the C-H's of the pendant aromatic rings and the carbons at the fusions in the acene backbone. Using thiophene substituents instead of phenyls creates cofacially stacked acenes. In thin films, the thiophene-substituted derivative forms devices with good electrical properties: relatively high mobility, high ON/OFF ratios, and low threshold voltage for device activation. An unusual result is obtained for the decaphenyl pentacene when devices are fabricated on its crystalline surface. Although its acene cores are well isolated from each other, this material still exhibits good electrical properties.