Lattice-guided assembly of optoelectronically active π-conjugated peptides on 1D van der Waals single crystals.

Yao, Ze-Fan; Cordova, Dmitri Leo Mesoza; Milligan, Griffin M; Lopez, Diana; Allison, Steven Jay; Kuang, Yuyao; Ardoña, Herdeline Ann M; Arguilla, Maxx Q · Sci Adv · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The deployment of organic molecules in high-performance devices strongly relies on the formation of well-ordered domains, which is often complicated by the dynamic and sensitive nature of supramolecular interactions. Here, we engineered the assembly of water-processable, optoelectronic π-conjugated peptides into well-defined organic-inorganic heterointerfaced assemblies by leveraging the long-range anisotropic ordering of 1D van der Waals (vdW) crystals composed of subnanometer-thick transition metal sulfide chains (MS<sub>3</sub>; M = Nb, Ta) as assembly templates. We found that the monomers can readily form 1D supramolecular assemblies onto the underlying crystal surface, owing to the structural correspondence between the π-π interactions of the quaterthiophene (4T)-based peptide units (DDD-4T) and sulfur atom ordering along the NbS<sub>3</sub> (100) surface. The heterointerfaced assemblies exhibited substantially red-shifted photoluminescence and enhanced visible-range photocurrent generation compared to solution-assembled films. Our results underscore the role of lattice matching in forming ordered supramolecular assemblies, offering an emergent approach to assembling organic building blocks endowed with improved physical properties.