title: Template synthesis of cyanine dye H-aggregates on nanostructured [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester substrates.
abstract: A novel and general method for the synthesis of H-aggregates is presented. H-aggregates can be precipitated from solutions of cyanine dyes in nanostructured [6,6]-phenyl C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) template films. H-aggregates synthesized that way have a narrow line shape width comparable to the smallest H-bands reported for thin films so far. We demonstrate that H-aggregates can be induced in different cyanine dyes (trimethine-, pentamethine- and heptamethine dyes). Aggregation follows a universal pathway, the concentration dependence of aggregation for different dyes can be scaled to fall onto one master curve. According to our model, H-aggregates have the form of 3D-crystals that form within cavities of the template. The template substrate is fabricated by means of a phase separation process of PCBM with a specific cyanine dye and consecutive selective dissolution of the dye. The dimensions of the template cavities have a major influence on aggregation.
authors.affiliation: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Überlandstr. 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. jakob.heier@empa.ch
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heier
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Steiger
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hany
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nüesch
mesh_terms: D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000737:chemistry*; D037741:Fullerenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: C539575:(6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester; D002232:Carbocyanines; D037741:Fullerenes