Face-to-Face Alignment of Porphyrin/Fullerene Nanowires Linked by Axial Metal Coordination

A general approach to construct one-dimensional face-to-face alignment of porphyrin/fullerene nanowires has been developed. This system uses extended trans-dihydroxotin(IV) porphyrin and trans-dicarboxylate-substituted [60]fullerenoacetic diacid compounds. The nanowires are arranged in regular one-dimensional linear arrays with lengths in the range 50-300 nm. In the nanowires, each fullerene unit is axially coordinated to the central metal ion of a Sn(IV) porphyrin unit via Sn-carboxylate coordination and forms a face-to-face aligned structure. The synthesis and the hierarchical structure of nanowires have been investigated. They could have potential applications for photoelectronic devices, organic solar cells and so on.