Search

After evaporation of the organic solvents, benzene, toluene, and cyclohexane on gold substrates, Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) shows the presence of a remaining adsorbed layer. The different solvent molecules were individually observed at ambient conditions, and their electronic transport properties characterized through the STM in the Break Junction approach. The combination of both techniques reveals, on one hand, that solvents are not fully evaporated over the gold electrode and, secondly, characterize the electronic transport of the solvents in molecular electronics.

We have carried out the synthesis of two dithia[9]helicenes by means of a LED-based double photocyclization. The compounds have sulfur atoms placed at the terminal rings of the helicene, and they display two alternative C2-symmetrical arrangements named exo (1) and endo (2). Separation of enantiomers of opposite helicity allowed the complete characterization of their chiroptical properties in solution, in silico, by X-ray crystallography, and adsorbed on gold. The theoretical analysis confirms the unexpected finding that endo-dithia[9]helicene displays an experimental dissymmetry factor in CPL (glum) larger than its isomer, exo-dithia[9]helicene. This enhanced glum factor ranks among the largest for a helicene-type molecule. Comparison with smaller analogues, namely exo and endo-dithia[7]helicenes (10 and 11, respectively), is also presented.

The introduction of thiophene rings to the helical structure of carbohelicenes has electronic effects that may be used advantageously in organic electronics. The performance of these devices is highly dependent on the sulfur atom topology, so a precise knowledge of the synthetic routes that may afford isomeric structures is necessary. We have studied the photocyclization pathway of both 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes on their way to thiahelicenes by experiment and theory. To begin with, the synthesis of stereochemically well-defined 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes allowed us to register first, and simulate later, the UV–vis electronic spectra of these precursors. This information gave us access through time-dependent density functional theory calculations to the very nature of the excited states involved in the photocyclization step and from there to the regio- and stereochemical outcome of the reaction. For the widely known case of a 2-styrylthiophene derivative, the expected naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was predicted and experimentally observed by synthesis. On the contrary, 3-styrylthiophene derivatives have been seldom used in synthetic photocyclizations. Among the two possible structural outcomes, only the naphtho[1,2-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was found to be mechanistically sound, and this was actually the only compound observed by synthesis.

As the first of a series of molecular solenoids, two classes of dithia[7]helicenes (coil-shaped molecules with sulfur atoms integrated within a helical conjugated system) have been devised and synthesized to be used in molecular electronics. We used a modular assembly of fragments using Pd catalyzed coupling reactions and a final photocyclization step for the syntheses; this strategy gave us straightforward access to helicenes bearing thiophene end rings with either exo or endo topologies. Unequivocal structural characterization was carried out by X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, their crystal architectures show little similarities; both can be considered an ensemble of heterochiral dimers (P/M) that are themselves very different in nature in light of their main pairing interactions. On a gold surface, the effect of the sulfur atom is to strengthen their binding to the electrodes, as manifested by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) performed at room temperature. Different coating patterns were observed for each class of molecule, although the most prominent finding is that we could see resolved STM images of a single molecule, with a full display of its inherent chirality under room temperature conditions.