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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Dicyanobenzothiadiazole Derivatives Possessing Switchable Dielectric Permittivities

Klaus MüllenMartin BaumgartenJakob WudarczykGeorge FloudasWojciech PisulaTomasz MarszalekGeorge PapamokosThomas NevolianisDieter Schollmeyer

subject

chemistry.chemical_classificationMaterials scienceNitrileRelative permittivity02 engineering and technologyPolymerDielectric010402 general chemistry021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology01 natural sciences0104 chemical sciencesDielectric spectroscopyDipolechemistry.chemical_compoundchemistryChemical physicsLiquid crystalPhase (matter)Organic chemistryGeneral Materials Science0210 nano-technology

description

Benzothiadiazoles are important electron acceptors and are frequently employed as electron-deficient components of donor-acceptor polymers. We report the effect of nitrile functionalities on the reactivity, steric hindrance, optoelectronic properties, and dielectric permittivity in dicyanobenzothioadiazole (DCNBT). Dielectric spectroscopy in the bulk and in solution assisted by DFT-calculations revealed that these molecules can be engineered to engender maximum values of the dipole moment and of dielectric permittivity due to the strong electron-withdrawing effect of the nitrile groups. The self-assembly in the bulk was investigated by X-ray scattering performed on single crystals, fibers (2D-WAXS), and thin films (GiWAXS). Combining these results, we found a switching of dielectric permittivity of the 4,7-alkylthienyl-substituted dicyanobenzothiadiazole at the transition from the liquid crystalline to the isotropic phase with values capable of competing with the best known rodlike liquid crystals.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03060