Epitaxial self-assembly of binary molecular components into branched nanowire heterostructures for photonic applications.
We report a sequential epitaxial growth to prepare organic branched nanowire heterostructures (BNwHs) consisting of a microribbon trunk of 1,4-dimethoxy-2,5-di[4'-(cyano)styryl]benzene (COPV) with multiple nanowire branches of 2,4,5-triphenylimidazole (TPI) in a one-pot solution synthesis. The synthesis involves a seeded-growth process, where COPV microribbons are grown first as a trunk followed by a seeded-growth of TPI nanowire branches at the pregrown trunk surfaces. Selected area electron diffraction characterizations reveal that multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions between TPI and COPV components play an essential role in the epitaxial growth as a result of the structural matching between COPV and TPI crystals. A multichannel optical router was successfully realized on the basis of the passive waveguides of COPV green photoluminescence (PL) along TPI nanowire branches in a single organic BNwH.
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China.
Qinghua
Q
Kong
Qing
Q
Liao
Zhenzhen
Z
Xu
Xuedong
X
Wang
Jiannian
J
Yao
Hongbing
H
Fu