Perfluorinated aromatic compounds, the so-called perfluoroarenes, are widely used in materials science owing to their high electron affinity and characteristic intermolecular interactions. However, methods to synthesize highly strained perfluoroarenes are limited, which greatly limits their structural diversity. Herein, we report the synthesis and isolation of perfluorocycloparaphenylenes (PFCPPs) as a class of ring-shaped perfluoroarenes. Using macrocyclic nickel complexes, we succeeded in synthesizing PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12, 14, 16) in one-pot without noble metals. The molecular structures of PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12, 14) were determined by X-ray crystallography to confirm their tubular alignment. Photophysical and electrochemical measurements revealed that PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12, 14) exhibited wide HOMO–LUMO gaps, high reduction potentials, and strong phosphorescence at low temperature. PFCPPs are not only useful as electron-accepting organic materials but can also be used for accelerating the creation of topologically unique molecular nanocarbon materials.

Controlling the direction of exciton-energy flow in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors is crucial for developing future high-speed optoelectronic devices using excitons as the information carriers. However, intrinsic exciton diffusion in conventional 2D semiconductors is omnidirectional, and efficient exciton-energy transport in a specific direction is difficult to achieve. Here we demonstrate directional exciton-energy transport across the interface in tungsten diselenide (WSe2)–molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) lateral heterostructures. Unidirectional transport is spontaneously driven by the built-in asymmetry of the exciton-energy landscape with respect to the heterojunction interface. At excitation positions close to the interface, the exciton photoluminescence (PL) intensity was substantially decreased in the WSe2 region and enhanced in the MoSe2 region. In PL excitation spectroscopy, it was confirmed that the observed phenomenon arises from lateral exciton-energy transport from WSe2 to MoSe2. This directional exciton-energy flow in lateral 2D heterostructures can be exploited in future optoelectronic devices.

Assemblies of single-walled carbon nanotubes with a specific chiral structure are promising future optofunctional materials because of their strong light–matter coupling arising from sharp optical resonances of quasi-one-dimensional excitons. Their strong optical resonances, which lie in the infrared-to-visible wavelength region, can be selected by their chiralities, and this selectivity promises a wide range of applications including photonic and thermo-optic devices. However, the broadband complex optical spectra of single-chirality carbon nanotube assemblies are scarce in the literature, which has prevented researchers and engineers from designing devices using them. Here, we experimentally determine broadband complex refractive index spectra of single-chirality carbon nanotube assemblies. Free-standing carbon nanotube membranes and those placed on sapphire substrates were fabricated via filtration of the nanotube solution prepared by the separation method using gel chromatography. Transmission and reflection spectra were measured in the mid-infrared to visible wavelength region, and the complex refractive indices of nanotube assemblies were determined as a function of photon energy. The real and imaginary parts of the refractive indices of the nanotube membrane with a bulk density of 1 g cm−3 at the first subband exciton resonance were determined to be approximately 2.7–3.6 and 1.3i–2.4i, respectively. We propose an empirical formula that phenomenologically describes the complex refractive index spectra of various single-chirality nanotube membranes, which can facilitate the design of photonic devices using carbon nanotubes as the material.

Perfluorinated aromatic compounds, the so-called perfluoroarenes, are widely used in materials science owing to their high electron affinity and characteristic intermolecular interactions. However, methods to synthesize highly strained perfluoroarenes have remained elusive so far, which greatly limits their structural diversity. Herein, we report the synthesis and isolation of perfluorocycloparaphenylenes (PFCPPs) as a class of ring-shaped perfluoroarenes. Using macrocyclic nickel complexes, we succeeded in synthesizing PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12, 14, 16) in one-pot without noble metals. The molecular structures of PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12) were determined by X-ray crystallography to confirm their tubular alignment. Photophysical and electrochemical measurements revealed that PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12) exhibit wide HOMO–LUMO gaps, high electron affinity, and strong phosphorescence at low temperature. PFCPPs are not only useful as electron-accepting organic semiconductors but can also be used for accelerating the creation of topologically unique molecular nanocarbon materials.

Perfluorinated aromatic compounds, the so-called perfluoroarenes, are widely used in materials science owing to their high electron affinity and characteristic intermolecular interactions. However, methods to synthesize highly strained perfluoroarenes have remained elusive so far, which greatly limits their structural diversity. Herein, we report the synthesis and isolation of perfluorocycloparaphenylenes (PFCPPs) as a class of ring-shaped perfluoroarenes. Using macrocyclic nickel complexes, we succeeded in synthesizing PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12, 14, 16) in one-pot without noble metals. The molecular structures of PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12) were determined by X-ray crystallography to confirm their tubular alignment. Photophysical and electrochemical measurements revealed that PF[n]CPPs (n = 10, 12) exhibit wide HOMO–LUMO gaps, high electron affinity, and strong phosphorescence at low temperature. PFCPPs are not only useful as electron-accepting organic semiconductors but can also be used for accelerating the creation of topologically unique molecular nanocarbon materials.