Electro-spun, semiconducting, oriented fibers of supramolecular quasi-linear platinum compounds

Abstract

The semiconducting Magnus’salt derivatives [Pt(NH2eh)4][PtCl4] and [Pt(NH2dmoc)4][PtCl4], with eh = (R)-2-ethylhexyl and dmoc = (S)-3,7-dimethyloctyl, are compounds that exhibit a supramolecular structure comprising a backbone of linear arrays of platinum atoms. These compounds behave essentially like ordinary polymers. In this work they were processed into fibres by electrospinning from organic solvents such as toluene. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the platinum arrays in the fibres were oriented parallel to the axis of the fibres. Accordingly, the fibres show anisotropic optical and electrical properties. The electrical conductivities observed along the fibre axis were 2 × 10−5 S cm−1 for [Pt(NH2dmoc)4][PtCl4] and 7 × 10−7 S cm−1 for [Pt(NH2eh)4][PtCl4]. These exceeded the values for the respective bulk compounds by 2‐3 orders of magnitude, in agreement with comparable observations in oriented semiconducting organic polymers.