Surface-Induced Phase of Tyrian Purple (6,6′-Dibromoindigo): Thin Film Formation and Stability

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• 作者：Magdalena Truger ; Otello M. Roscioni ; Christian Röthel ; Dominik Kriegner ; Clemens Simbrunner ; Rizwan Ahmed ; Eric D. Głowacki ; Josef Simbrunner ; Ingo Salzmann ; Anna Maria Coclite ; Andrew O. F. Jones ; Roland Resel
• 刊名：Crystal Growth & Design
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：July 6, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：16
• 期：7
• 页码：3647-3655
• 全文大小：625K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1528-7505

文摘

The appearance of surface-induced phases of molecular crystals is a frequently observed phenomenon in organic electronics. However, despite their fundamental importance, the origin of such phases is not yet fully resolved. The organic molecule 6,6′-dibromoindigo (Tyrian purple) forms two polymorphs within thin films. At growth temperatures of 150 °C, the well-known bulk structure forms, while at a substrate temperature of 50 °C, a surface-induced phase is observed instead. In the present work, the crystal structure of the surface-induced polymorph is solved by a combined experimental and theoretical approach using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations. A comparison of both phases reveals that π–π stacking and hydrogen bonds are common motifs for the intermolecular packing. In-situ temperature studies reveal a phase transition from the surface-induced phase to the bulk phase at a temperature of 210 °C; the irreversibility of the transition indicates that the surface-induced phase is metastable. The crystallization behavior is investigated ex-situ starting from the sub-monolayer regime up to a nominal thickness of 9 nm using two different silicon oxide surfaces; island formation is observed together with a slight variation of the crystal structure. This work shows that surface-induced phases not only appear for compounds with weak, isotropic van der Waals bonds, but also for molecules exhibiting strong and highly directional hydrogen bonds.