TY - JOUR A1 - Wu, Zhu A1 - Dinkelbach, Fabian A1 - Kerner, Florian A1 - Friedrich, Alexandra A1 - Ji, Lei A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Würthner, Frank A1 - Marian, Christel M. A1 - Marder, Todd B. T1 - Aggregation-Induced Dual Phosphorescence from (o-Bromophenyl)-Bis(2,6-Dimethylphenyl)Borane at Room Temperature JF - Chemistry—A European Journal N2 - Designing highly efficient purely organic phosphors at room temperature remains a challenge because of fast non-radiative processes and slow intersystem crossing (ISC) rates. The majority of them emit only single component phosphorescence. Herein, we have prepared 3 isomers (o, m, p-bromophenyl)-bis(2,6-dimethylphenyl)boranes. Among the 3 isomers (o-, m- and p-BrTAB) synthesized, the ortho-one is the only one which shows dual phosphorescence, with a short lifetime of 0.8 ms and a long lifetime of 234 ms in the crystalline state at room temperature. Based on theoretical calculations and crystal structure analysis of o-BrTAB, the short lifetime component is ascribed to the T\(^M_1\) state of the monomer which emits the higher energy phosphorescence. The long-lived, lower energy phosphorescence emission is attributed to the T\(^A_1\) state of an aggregate, with multiple intermolecular interactions existing in crystalline o-BrTAB inhibiting nonradiative decay and stabilizing the triplet states efficiently. KW - AIE KW - luminescence KW - phosphorescence KW - triarylborane KW - triplet Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318297 VL - 28 IS - 30 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlossarek, Tim A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Beuerle, Florian A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Self‐assembled Ru(bda) Coordination Oligomers as Efficient Catalysts for Visible Light‐Driven Water Oxidation in Pure Water JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition N2 - 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. KW - artificial photosynthesis KW - coordination oligomer KW - photocatalysis KW - Ruthenium complexes KW - water oxidation Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312184 VL - 61 IS - 52 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karak, Suvendu A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Addicoat, Matthew A. A1 - Keßler, Philipp A1 - Moser, Simon A1 - Beuerle, Florian A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - A Covalent Organic Framework for Cooperative Water Oxidation JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society N2 - The future of water-derived hydrogen as the “sustainable energy source” straightaway bets on the success of the sluggish oxygen-generating half-reaction. The endeavor to emulate the natural photosystem II for efficient water oxidation has been extended across the spectrum of organic and inorganic combinations. However, the achievement has so far been restricted to homogeneous catalysts rather than their pristine heterogeneous forms. The poor structural understanding and control over the mechanistic pathway often impede the overall development. Herein, we have synthesized a highly crystalline covalent organic framework (COF) for chemical and photochemical water oxidation. The interpenetrated structure assures the catalyst stability, as the catalyst’s performance remains unaltered after several cycles. This COF exhibits the highest ever accomplished catalytic activity for such an organometallic crystalline solid-state material where the rate of oxygen evolution is as high as ∼26,000 μmol L\(^{–1}\) s\(^{–1}\) (second-order rate constant k ≈ 1650 μmol L s\(^{–1}\) g\(^{–2}\)). The catalyst also proves its exceptional activity (k ≈ 1600 μmol L s\(^{–1}\) g\(^{–2}\)) during light-driven water oxidation under very dilute conditions. The cooperative interaction between metal centers in the crystalline network offers 20–30-fold superior activity during chemical as well as photocatalytic water oxidation as compared to its amorphous polymeric counterpart. KW - water oxidation KW - sustainable energy source KW - covalent organic framework KW - catalyst KW - crystalline KW - catalysis KW - nanoparticles Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287591 UR - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.2c07282 SN - 0002-7863 VL - 144 IS - 38 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sanchez-Naya, Roberto A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Mandel, Karl A1 - Beuerle, Florian T1 - Modulation of Crystallinity and Optical Properties in Composite Materials Combining Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Dye-Containing Covalent Organic Frameworks JF - Organic Materials N2 - Two series of organic–inorganic composite materials were synthesized through solvothermal imine condensation between diketopyrrolopyrrole dialdehyde DPP-1 and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin (TAPP) in the presence of varying amounts of either amino- or carboxy-functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO). Whereas high FeO loading induced cross-linking of the inorganic nanoparticles by amorphous imine polymers, a lower FeO content resulted in the formation of crystalline covalent organic framework domains. All hybrid materials were analyzed by magnetization measurements, powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, IR, and UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy. Crystallinity, chromophore stacking, and visible absorption features are directly correlated to the mass fraction of the components, thus allowing for a fine-tuning of materials properties. KW - covalent organic frameworks KW - diketopyrrolopyrroles KW - porphyrins KW - iron oxide nanoparticles KW - hybrid materials KW - superparamagnetism Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231480 VL - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kim, Jin Hong A1 - Liess, Andreas A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Krause, Ana-Maria A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Zhong, Chuwei A1 - Bialas, David A1 - Spano, Frank A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - An Efficient Narrowband Near-Infrared at 1040 nm Organic Photodetector Realized by Intermolecular Charge Transfer Mediated Coupling Based on a Squaraine Dye JF - Advanced Materials N2 - 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. KW - squaraine dyes KW - crystal engineering KW - J-aggregates KW - near-infrared sensitivity KW - organic photodiodes Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-256374 VL - 33 IS - 26 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shen, Chia-An A1 - Bialas, David A1 - Hecht, Markus A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Sugiyasu, Kazunori A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Polymorphism in squaraine dye aggregates by self-assembly pathway differentiation: panchromatic tubular dye nanorods versus J-aggregate nanosheets JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition N2 - 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. KW - organic chemistry KW - supramolecular polymers KW - nanorods and nanosheets KW - polymorphism KW - squaraine dyes KW - cooperative self-assembly Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-256443 IS - 21 ET - 60 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schembri, Tim A1 - Kim, Jin Hong A1 - Liess, Andreas A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Semitransparent Layers of Social Self‐Sorting Merocyanine Dyes for Ultranarrow Bandwidth Organic Photodiodes JF - Advanced Optical Materials N2 - Two dipolar merocyanines consisting of the same π‐conjugated chromophore but different alkyl substituents adopt very different packing arrangements in their respective solid state with either H‐ or J‐type exciton coupling, leading to ultranarrow absorption bands at 477 and 750 nm, respectively, due to exchange narrowing. The social self‐sorting behavior of these push‐pull chromophores in their mixed thin films is evaluated and the impact on morphology as well as opto‐electronical properties is determined. The implementation of this well‐tuned two‐component material with tailored optical features allows to optimize planar heterojunction organic photodiodes with fullerene ​(C\(_{60}\)) with either dual or single wavelength selectivity in the blue and NIR spectral range with ultranarrow bandwidths of only 11 nm (200 cm\(^{-1}\)) and an external quantum efficiency of up to 18% at 754 nm under 0 V bias. The application of these photodiodes as low‐power consuming heart rate monitors is demonstrated by a reflectance‐mode photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor. KW - exciton coupling KW - merocyanine dyes/pigments KW - narrow bandwidth KW - organic photodiodes KW - social self‐sorting Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244762 VL - 9 IS - 15 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hecht, Markus A1 - Leowanawat, Pawaret A1 - Gerlach, Tabea A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Stolte, Matthias A1 - Lehmann, Matthias A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Self‐Sorting Supramolecular Polymerization: Helical and Lamellar Aggregates of Tetra‐Bay‐Acyloxy Perylene Bisimide JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition N2 - A new perylene bisimide (PBI), with a fluorescence quantum yield up to unity, self‐assembles into two polymorphic supramolecular polymers. This PBI bears four solubilizing acyloxy substituents at the bay positions and is unsubstituted at the imide position, thereby allowing hydrogen‐bond‐directed self‐assembly in nonpolar solvents. The formation of the polymorphs is controlled by the cooling rate of hot monomer solutions. They show distinctive absorption profiles and morphologies and can be isolated in different polymorphic liquid‐crystalline states. The interchromophoric arrangement causing the spectral features was elucidated, revealing the formation of columnar and lamellar phases, which are formed by either homo‐ or heterochiral self‐assembly, respectively, of the atropoenantiomeric PBIs. Kinetic studies reveal a narcissistic self‐sorting process upon fast cooling, and that the transformation into the heterochiral (racemic) sheetlike self‐assemblies proceeds by dissociation via the monomeric state. KW - liquid crystals KW - noncovalent interactions KW - self-assembly KW - structure elucidation KW - supramolecular chemistry Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224586 VL - 59 IS - 39 SP - 17084 EP - 17090 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wehner, Marius A1 - Röhr, Merle Insa Silja A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Control of self-assembly pathways toward conglomerate and racemic supramolecular polymers JF - Nature Communications N2 - 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. KW - perylene bismide dye KW - nucleation-elongation KW - PI stacking KW - polymerization KW - complexity KW - mechanism KW - crystals KW - kinetics KW - growth Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230580 VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schindler, Dorothee A1 - Gil‐Sepulcre, Marcos A1 - Lindner, Joachim O. A1 - Stepanenko, Vladimir A1 - Moonshiram, Dooshaye A1 - Llobet, Antoni A1 - Würthner, Frank T1 - Efficient Electrochemical Water Oxidation by a Trinuclear Ru(bda) Macrocycle Immobilized on Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Electrodes JF - Advanced Energy Materials N2 - 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\(^{−1}\). KW - electrocatalysis KW - heterogeneous catalysis KW - renewable fuels KW - ruthenium bda complexes KW - water splitting Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218381 VL - 10 IS - 43 ER -