From macro- to nanoscopic templating with nanographenes

A hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene carrying six long, branched alkyl chains has been processed in nano- and macroscopic pore templates. An extraordinary self-organization of this material was observed within macroscopically large glass capillaries after cooling from the isotropic phase. Thereby, the columnar structures were long-range aligned along the capillary axis over several centimeters. This behavior was explained by the pronounced directional self-assembly of the molecules, whereby the curvature effect of the capillary was negligible. The processing in nanoscopic pores of an inorganic membrane yielded an improved supramolecular organization. It was possible to remove the inorganic template and to obtain bundles and single nanorods. The templating over different dimensions opens a variety of potential applications. Copyright © 2006 American Chemical Society.