Synthesis and structural characterization of a bis-arborol-tetrathiafulvalene gel: Toward a self-assembling molecular wire

A gel-forming compound, 4,4′-bis[[N,N′-bis[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]-7,7-diamidoheptyl] thio]-5,5′-dimethyltetrathiafulvalene (1) has been prepared, with the aim of manufacturing a self-assembling “molecular” wire. The gel has been characterized structurally by optical and atomic force microscopy. These investigations revealed stringlike superstructures with lengths of the order of microns and diameters ranging from about 30 to several hundred nanometers. Absorption spectroscopy of 1, both in the neutral and in the oxidized state, indicates that the tetrathiafulvalene units form stacks through which conduction could take place.