Self-Templating Polythiophene Derivatives: Electronic Decoupling of Conjugated Strands through Staggered Packing

Whereas molecular electronics needs well-controlled 3D geometries for decoupling or interconnecting individual molecules, conjugated polymers form disordered structures when deposited on a substrate. We show that this trend can be overcome in polythiophene derivatives designed so as to exploit weak sulfur bromine interactions. A self-template effect follows, leading to staggered organizations of well-aligned electronically decoupled conjugated strands, as observed in situ by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy on graphite.