Tuning intermolecular non-covalent interactions for nanowires of organic semiconductors

Anthracene and its derivatives are used to demonstrate a simple way to cast assemble nanowires of organic semiconductors with tuning of intermolecular non-covalent interactions by molecular design. The tuning of intermolecular interactions could be achieved by (i) decreasing intermolecular hydrophobic interactions by linking hydrophilic side chains to anthracene rings, (ii) increasing intermolecular interaction for self-assembly with the assistance of hydrogen bonds, and (iii) enhancing molecular π-π interaction by increasing the conjugated dimension of the compounds.