Self-assembly of chiral diketopyrrolopyrrole chromophores giving supramolecular chains in monolayers and twisted microtapes.

Chiral diketopyrrolopyrroles appended with enantiomeric ethyl lactate functions through an ether linkage to the aryl backbone of the chromophore were synthesized via the Mitsunobu reaction. The molecules have good solubility and excellent optical properties, high molar absorption coefficients, and fluorescence quantum yields. Helical aggregates with circular dichroism arising from the supramolecular arrangement are seen in both solution and thin films, and the aggregates also display circularly polarized luminescence (glum  ≈ ±0.1). The molecules assemble to give monolayers on graphite and precipitate from solution forming supramolecular twisted tapes hundreds of microns long.