A π-gel scaffold for assembling fullerene to photoconducting supramolecular rods

Nonequilibrium self-assembly of molecules holds a huge prospect as a tool for obtaining new-generation materials for future applications. Crystallization of neutral molecules within a supramolecular gel matrix is one example in which two nonequilibrium processes occur orthogonal to each other. On the other hand, electronically interacting donor-acceptor two-component systems are expected to form phase-miscible hybrid systems. Contrary to the expectation, we report the behavior of a pi-gel, derived from oligo(p-phenylenevinylene), OPVA, as a scaffold for the phase separation and crystallization of fullerene (C-60) to supramolecular rods with increased transient photoconductivity (phi Sigma mu(max) = 2.4 x 10(-4) cm(2) V-1 s(-1)). The C-60 supramolecular rods in the pi-gel medium exhibited high photocurrent in comparison to C-60 loaded in a non-pi-gel medium. This finding provides an opportunity for large-scale preparation of micrometer-sized photoconducting rods of fullerenes for device application.