Conductive Nanoscopic Fibrous Assemblies Containing Helical Tetrathiafulvalene Stacks

Tetrathiafulvalenes (TTF) S-TTF and R-TTF having four chiral amide end groups self-organize into helical nanofibers in the presence of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7',8,8'-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (F(4)TCNQ). The intermolecular hydrogen bonding among chiral amide end groups and the formation of charge-transfer complexes results in a long one-dimensional supramolecular stacking, and the chirality of the end groups affects the molecular orientation of TTF cores within the stacks. Electronic conductivity of a single helical nanoscopic fiber made of S-TTF and F(4)TCNQ is determined to be (7.0+/-3.0)x10(-4) S cm(-1) by point-contact current-imaging (PCI) AFM measurement. Nonwoven fabric composed of helical nanofibers shows a semiconducting temperature dependence with an activation energy of 0.18 eV.