Highly conductive and stable polysiloxane-modified perylenebisimide nanosheets and nanowires by self-assembly and subsequent condensation

Perylenebisimide (PBI) nanowires and nanosheets with high chemical and mechanical stability are prepared by a simple way. Firstly, a PBI-based organosilane precursor PBI-Si(OEt)3 was synthesized. Its nanostructures were then assembled by a solvent-exchange method. The nanostructures could be adjusted by assembling in different solvents. The obtained nanostructures were finally fixed by acetic acid vapor treatment through polycondensation of the triethoxysilyl groups in the precursors. After polycondensation, the nanostructures hardly change and they become insoluble in common solvents. Moreover, the conductivity of the polycondensed nanowires and nanosheets are ca. 35-40 times than that of polycondensed spin-coated PBI-Si(OEt)3 film by current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM).