Donor-acceptor phthalocyanine nanoaggregates.

A novel donor-acceptor bisphthalocyanine (bis-Pc, 1) in which two different Pc units (Zn(II)-Pc and Ni(II)-Pc) are linked via vinylene spacers to the pseudopara positions of a central [2.2]paracyclophane moiety is described. The synthesis of 1 is achieved by two successive Heck reactions of pseudopara-divinyl[2.2]paracyclophane 9 with, sequentially, a zinc(II)- and a nickel(II)-iodophthalocyanine (4 and 5, respectively). The self-assembly ability of 1, which is the result of the complementary donor-acceptor character of its phthalocyanine units, has been assessed by a variety of techniques. It is revealed that 1 forms one-dimensional aggregates of nanometer-sized dimension, whereas equimolar mixtures of the donor and acceptor Pc subunits 2 and 3, although strongly interacting, do not give large arrays. The aggregates of 1 represent a novel type of supramolecular polymers based mainly upon donor-acceptor interactions.