@article{SchindlerGil‐SepulcreLindneretal.2020,
  author    = {Schindler, Dorothee and Gil-Sepulcre, Marcos and Lindner, Joachim O. and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Moonshiram, Dooshaye and Llobet, Antoni and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Efficient Electrochemical Water Oxidation by a Trinuclear Ru(bda) Macrocycle Immobilized on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Electrodes},
  series = {Advanced Energy Materials},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Advanced Energy Materials},
  number    = {43},
  doi       = {10.1002/aenm.202002329},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218381},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Catalytic water splitting is a viable process for the generation of renewable fuels. Here it is reported for the first time that a trinuclear supramolecular Ru(bda) (bda: 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate) catalyst, anchored on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and subsequently immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes, shows outstanding performance in heterogeneous water oxidation. Activation of the catalyst on anodes by repetitive cyclic voltammetry (CV) scans results in a catalytic current density of 186 mA cm\(^{-2}\) at a potential of 1.45 V versus NHE. The activated catalyst performs water oxidation at an onset overpotential of 330 mV. The remarkably high stability of the hybrid anode is demonstrated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and electrochemically, revealing the absence of any degradation after 1.8 million turnovers. Foot of the wave analysis of CV data of activated electrodes with different concentrations of catalyst indicates a monomolecular water nucleophilic attack mechanism with an apparent rate constant of TOFmax (turnover frequency) of 3200 s\(^{-1}\).},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WehnerRoehrStepanenkoetal.2020,
  author    = {Wehner, Marius and R{\"o}hr, Merle Insa Silja and Stepanenko, Vladimir and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Control of self-assembly pathways toward conglomerate and racemic supramolecular polymers},
  series = {Nature Communications},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Nature Communications},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41467-020-19189-8},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230580},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Homo- and heterochiral aggregation during crystallization of organic molecules has significance both for fundamental questions related to the origin of life as well as for the separation of homochiral compounds from their racemates in industrial processes. Herein, we analyse these phenomena at the lowest level of hierarchy - that is the self-assembly of a racemic mixture of (R,R)- and (S,S)-PBI into 1D supramolecular polymers. By a combination of UV/vis and NMR spectroscopy as well as atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that homochiral aggregation of the racemic mixture leads to the formation of two types of supramolecular conglomerates under kinetic control, while under thermodynamic control heterochiral aggregation is preferred, affording a racemic supramolecular polymer. FT-IR spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations reveal unique packing arrangements and hydrogen-bonding patterns within these supramolecular polymers. Time-, concentration- and temperature-dependent UV/vis experiments provide further insights into the kinetic and thermodynamic control of the conglomerate and racemic supramolecular polymer formation. Homo- and heterochiral aggregation is a process of interest to prebiotic and chiral separation chemistry. Here, the authors analyze the self-assembly of a racemic mixture into 1D supramolecular polymers and find homochiral aggregation into conglomerates under kinetic control, while under thermodynamic control a racemic polymer is formed.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchlossarekStepanenkoBeuerleetal.2022,
  author    = {Schlossarek, Tim and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Self-assembled Ru(bda) Coordination Oligomers as Efficient Catalysts for Visible Light-Driven Water Oxidation in Pure Water},
  series = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  volume    = {61},
  journal   = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  number    = {52},
  doi       = {10.1002/anie.202211445},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312184},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Water-soluble multinuclear complexes based on ruthenium 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate (bda) and ditopic bipyridine linker units are investigated in three-component visible light-driven water oxidation catalysis. Systematic studies revealed a strong enhancement of the catalytic efficiency in the absence of organic co-solvents and with increasing oligomer length. In-depth kinetic and morphological investigations suggest that the enhanced performance is induced by the self-assembly of linear Ru(bda) oligomers into aggregated superstructures. The obtained turnover frequencies (up to 14.9 s\(^{-1}\)) and turnover numbers (more than 1000) per ruthenium center are the highest reported so far for Ru(bda)-based photocatalytic water oxidation systems.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KimLiessStolteetal.2021,
  author    = {Kim, Jin Hong and Liess, Andreas and Stolte, Matthias and Krause, Ana-Maria and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Zhong, Chuwei and Bialas, David and Spano, Frank and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {An Efficient Narrowband Near-Infrared at 1040 nm Organic Photodetector Realized by Intermolecular Charge Transfer Mediated Coupling Based on a Squaraine Dye},
  series = {Advanced Materials},
  volume    = {33},
  journal   = {Advanced Materials},
  number    = {26},
  doi       = {10.1002/adma.202100582},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-256374},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {A highly sensitive short-wave infrared (SWIR, λ > 1000 nm) organic photodiode (OPD) is described based on a well-organized nanocrystalline bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) active layer composed of a dicyanovinyl-functionalized squaraine dye (SQ-H) donor material in combination with PC\(_{61}\)BM. Through thermal annealing, dipolar SQ-H chromophores self-assemble in a nanoscale structure with intermolecular charge transfer mediated coupling, resulting in a redshifted and narrow absorption band at 1040 nm as well as enhanced charge carrier mobility. The optimized OPD exhibits an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 12.3\% and a full-width at half-maximum of only 85 nm (815 cm\(^{-1}\)) at 1050 nm under 0 V, which is the first efficient SWIR OPD based on J-type aggregates. Photoplethysmography application for heart-rate monitoring is successfully demonstrated on flexible substrates without applying reverse bias, indicating the potential of OPDs based on short-range coupled dye aggregates for low-power operating wearable applications.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ShenBialasHechtetal.2021,
  author    = {Shen, Chia-An and Bialas, David and Hecht, Markus and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Sugiyasu, Kazunori and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Polymorphism in squaraine dye aggregates by self-assembly pathway differentiation: panchromatic tubular dye nanorods versus J-aggregate nanosheets},
  series = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  journal   = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  number    = {21},
  edition   = {60},
  doi       = {10.1002/anie.202102183},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-256443},
  pages     = {11949-11958},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {A bis(squaraine) dye equipped with alkyl and oligoethyleneglycol chains was synthesized by connecting two dicyanomethylene substituted squaraine dyes with a phenylene spacer unit. The aggregation behavior of this bis(squaraine) was investigated in non-polar toluene/tetrachloroethane (98:2) solvent mixture, which revealed competing cooperative self-assembly pathways into two supramolecular polymorphs with entirely different packing structures and UV/Vis/NIR absorption properties. The self-assembly pathway can be controlled by the cooling rate from a heated solution of the monomers. For both polymorphs, quasi-equilibrium conditions between monomers and the respective aggregates can be established to derive thermodynamic parameters and insights into the self-assembly mechanisms. AFM measurements revealed a nanosheet structure with a height of 2 nm for the thermodynamically more stable polymorph and a tubular nanorod structure with a helical pitch of 13 nm and a diameter of 5 nm for the kinetically favored polymorph. Together with wide angle X-ray scattering measurements, packing models were derived: the thermodynamic polymorph consists of brick-work type nanosheets that exhibit red-shifted absorption bands as typical for J-aggregates, while the nanorod polymorph consists of eight supramolecular polymer strands of the bis(squaraine) intertwined to form a chimney-type tubular structure. The absorption of this aggregate covers a large spectral range from 550 to 875 nm, which cannot be rationalized by the conventional exciton theory. By applying the Essential States Model and considering intermolecular charge transfer, the aggregate spectrum was adequately reproduced, revealing that the broad absorption spectrum is due to pronounced donor-acceptor overlap within the bis(squaraine) nanorods. The latter is also responsible for the pronounced bathochromic shift observed for the nanosheet structure as a result of the slip-stacked arranged squaraine chromophores.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchmidtStolteSuessetal.2019,
  author    = {Schmidt, David and Stolte, Matthias and S{\"u}ß, Jasmin and Liess, Dr. Andreas and Stepanenko, Vladimir and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Protein-like enwrapped perylene bisimide chromophore as bright microcrystalline emitter material},
  series = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  volume    = {58},
  journal   = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  number    = {38},
  doi       = {10.1002/ange.201907618},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-204809},
  pages     = {13385-13389},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Strongly emissive solid-state materials are mandatory components for many emerging optoelectronic technologies, but fluorescence is often quenched in the solid state owing to strong intermolecular interactions. The design of new organic pigments, which retain their optical properties despite their high tendency to crystallize, could overcome such limitations. Herein, we show a new material with monomer-like absorption and emission profiles as well as fluorescence quantum yields over 90 \% in its crystalline solid state. The material was synthesized by attaching two bulky tris(4-tert-butylphenyl)phenoxy substituents at the perylene bisimide bay positions. These substituents direct a packing arrangement with full enwrapping of the chromophore and unidirectional chromophore alignment within the crystal lattice to afford optical properties that resemble those of their natural pigment counterparts, in which chromophores are rigidly embedded in protein environments.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GilSepulcreLindnerSchindleretal.2021,
  author    = {Gil-Sepulcre, Marcos and Lindner, Joachim O. and Schindler, Dorothee and Velasco, Luc{\´i}a and Moonshiram, Dooshaye and R{\"u}diger, Olaf and DeBeer, Serena and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Solano, Eduardo and W{\"u}rthner, Frank and Llobet, Antoni},
  title     = {Surface-promoted evolution of Ru-bda coordination oligomers boosts the efficiency of water oxidation molecular anodes},
  series = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  volume    = {143},
  journal   = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  number    = {30},
  doi       = {10.1021/jacs.1c04738},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-351514},
  pages     = {11651-11661},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {A new Ru oligomer of formula {[Ru-\(^{II}\)(bda-\(\kappa\)-N\(^2\)O\(^2\))(4,4'-bpy)]\(_{10}\)(4,4'-bpy)}, 10 (bda is [2,2'-bipyridine]-6,6'-dicarbox-ylate and 4,4'-bpy is 4,4'-bipyridine), was synthesized and thoroughly characterized with spectroscopic, X-ray, and electrochemical techniques. This oligomer exhibits strong affinity for graphitic materials through CH-\(\pi\) interactions and thus easily anchors on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT), generating the molecular hybrid material 10@CNT. The latter acts as a water oxidation catalyst and converts to a new species, 10'(H\(_2\)O)\(_2\)@CNT, during the electrochemical oxygen evolution process involving solvation and ligand reorganization facilitated by the interactions of molecular Ru catalyst and the surface. This heterogeneous system has been shown to be a powerful and robust molecular hybrid anode for electrocatalytic water oxidation into molecular oxygen, achieving current densities in the range of 200 mA/cm\(^2\) at pH 7 under an applied potential of 1.45 V vs NHE. The remarkable long-term stability of this hybrid material during turnover is rationalized based on the supramolecular interaction of the catalyst with the graphitic surface.},
  language  = {en}
}