Urethane tetrathiafulvalene derivatives: synthesis, self-assembly and electrochemical properties

This paper reports the self-assembly of two new tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivatives that contain one or two urethane groups. The formation of nanoribbons was evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), which showed that the self-assembly ability of T-1 was better than that of T-2. The results revealed that more urethane groups in a molecule did not necessarily instigate self-assembly. UV-vis and FTIR spectra were measured to explore noncovalent interactions. The driving forces for self-assembly of TTF derivatives were mainly hydrogen bond interactions and pi-pi stacking interactions. The electronic conductivity of the T-1 and T-2 films was tested by a four-probe method.