Tunable symmetry and periodicity in binary supramolecular nanostructures

We present a route to change the "compositional" order of highly crystalline binary layers comprising diindenoperylene and copper-phthalocyanines from two- to one-dimensional periodicity. This is achieved by exchanging fluorine with hydrogen atoms in the phthalocyanines, thereby reducing the C-F···H-C interactions and allowing the interplay of long-range electrostatic interactions in mesoscopic phases. Linear patterns are thus obtained, whose periodicity can be additionally tuned by an appropriate stoichiometry of the components.