Photoconductive Coaxial Nanotubes of Molecularly Connected Electron Donor and Acceptor Layers
Yohei Yamamoto,1
Takanori Fukushima,1,2*
Yuki Suna,1
Noriyuki Ishii,3
Akinori Saeki,4
Shu Seki,4
Seiichi Tagawa,4
Masateru Taniguchi,4
Tomoji Kawai,4
Takuzo Aida1,2*
Controlled self-assembly of a trinitrofluorenone-appended gemini-shaped
amphiphilic hexabenzocoronene selectively formed nanotubes or
microfibers with different photochemical properties. In these
nanotubes, which are 16 nanometers in diameter and several micrometers
long, a molecular layer of electron-accepting trinitrofluorenone
laminates an electron-donating graphitic layer of
-stacked hexabenzocoronene.
The coaxial nanotubular structure allows photochemical generation
of spatially separated charge carriers and a quick photoconductive
response with a large on/off ratio greater than 10
4. In sharp
contrast, the microfibers consist of a charge-transfer complex
between the hexabenzocoronene and trinitrofluorenone parts and
exhibit almost no photocurrent generation.
2 Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, and Center for NanoBio Integration, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–8656, Japan.
3 Biological Information Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba Central-6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8566, Japan.
4 Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567–0047, Japan.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fukushima{at}nanospace.miraikan.jst.go.jp (T.F.); aida{at}macro.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp (T.A.)
