Two-Dimensional Crystals of Poly(3-Alkyl- thiophene)s: Direct Visualization of Polymer Folds in Submolecular Resolution

Abstract

The molecular parameters of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s 1 (R=C6H13, C12H25), coupled head-to-tail, have been observed by scanning tunneling microscopy of their two-dimensional crystals. Polymer folds and conformations at a submolecular resolution is clearly presented (see image for 1, R=C12H25), as is a greater electronic coupling from these “molecular wires” stacked parallel in a second layer.