Separation and identification of indene–C₇₀ bisadduct isomers

• Bolong Zhang,
• Jegadesan Subbiah,
• David J. Jones and
• Wallace W. H. Wong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 903–911, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.88

• continuous interpenetrating networks. Some indications on the degree of phase separation can be obtained in tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments (see Supporting Information File 1 for experimental details). Both height and phase AFM images suggested unfavourable phase separation for blend

Syntheses of dibenzo[d,d']benzo[2,1-b:3,4-b']difuran derivatives and their application to organic field-effect transistors

• Minh Anh Truong and
• Koji Nakano

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 805–812, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.79

• anti-DNBDF derivatives [39]. Analysis of thin films The vapor-deposited thin films of syn-DBBDF 5 and syn-DNBDF 6 were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Figure 6 shows the out-of-plane XRD pattern and an AFM image of the thin film of syn-DNBDF 6 on the HMDS-treated

• be arranged on the substrate with its molecular long axis almost perpendicular to the substrate. Such a layer structure was also confirmed by AFM. As shown in Figure 6b,c, the thin film of syn-DNBDF 6 forms relatively large grains (ca. 0.5 μm in size) with a layer structure (step heights ca. 4.0 nm

• ) along with heterogeneous protrusions. The molecular arrangement indicated by these observations is advantageous for the in-plane charge transfer of OFETs. Based on XRD patterns and AFM images, the substrate treatment and the substrate temperature seem to have a limited impact on the molecular

Synthesis and photophysical characteristics of polyfluorene polyrotaxanes

• Aurica Farcas,
• Giulia Tregnago,
• Ana-Maria Resmerita,
• Pierre-Henri Aubert and
• Franco Cacialli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 2677–2688, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.288

• electrochemical band gap (ΔEg) of 3·TM-βCD polyrotaxane is smaller than that of 3·TM-γCD and 3, respectively. The lower ΔEg value for 3·TM-βCD suggests that the encapsulation has a greater effect on the reduction process, which affects the LUMO energy level value. Based on AFM analysis, 3·TM-βCD and 3·TM-γCD

• phenomenon represents a significant contribution of TM-βCD high coverage. To further explore the effect of the TM-βCD and TM-γCD encapsulations, the surface topography of the copolymers was also investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Some representative images obtained for the non-rotaxane 3

• parameters compared to that of the non-rotaxane counterpart 3. It should be note that the lower Sq and Sa values provide microscopic evidence of the changes in the surface topography of the encapsulated compounds. Taking into account all the information obtained from AFM analysis, it can be concluded that

Hexacoordinate Ru-based olefin metathesis catalysts with pH-responsive N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and N-donor ligands for ROMP reactions in non-aqueous, aqueous and emulsion conditions

• Shawna L. Balof,
• K. Owen Nix,
• Matthew S. Olliff,
• Sarah E. Roessler,
• Arpita Saha,
• Kevin B. Müller,
• Ulrich Behrens,
• Edward J. Valente and
• Hans-Jörg Schanz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1960–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.212

• maintain their size and shape in the film as shown in the atom force microscope (AFM) image (Figure 3). Conclusion In conclusion, the three new olefin metathesis catalysts 9, 11 and 12 bearing the pH-responsive H2ITap ligand were synthesized and tested in RCM and ROMP reactions. Complex 12 was

• contains a molecule of cocrystallized water. The hydrogen atoms of the water molecule were omitted from the structure due to thermal uncertainty. AFM image produced from COE/DCPD latex film. Measurement: AFM tapping at room temperature, material contrast using Phase Imaging. Synthesis of 2nd Grubbs-type

Polythiophene and oligothiophene systems modified by TTF electroactive units for organic electronics

• Alexander L. Kanibolotsky,
• Neil J. Findlay and
• Peter J. Skabara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1749–1766, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.191

• -type semiconductor in OFETs using two solvents for spin-coating – chloroform and chlorobenzene [93]. A bottom contact, bottom gate device configuration was used with an n-doped silicon gate and a SiO2 dielectric layer. After annealing at 120 °C, AFM imaging indicated a closely packed grain-like surface

• crystalline domain. An OFET mobility of 1.41 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1 calculated in the saturation region was observed. An increase in the field effect mobility (to µ = 1.17 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1) by almost an order of magnitude was observed in devices cast from chloroform. As with polymer 48, tapping mode AFM of the

• more affected by the solvent than the open circuit voltage (0.78 V). AFM revealed a smoother surface morphology of the donor–acceptor blend film cast from o-DCB than that when chloroform was used as solvent. Conclusion The series of poly- and oligothiophene based compounds bearing TTF units reported so

Star-shaped tetrathiafulvalene oligomers towards the construction of conducting supramolecular assembly

• Masahiko Iyoda and
• Masashi Hasegawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1596–1613, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.175

• hand, the conductivities of the corresponding neutral nanoobjects are determined by pulse-radiolysis or flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity techniques [48][49]. Current-sensing atomic force microscopy (CS-AFM) and combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS

• . For example, the bi-TTF derivative 15a with long alkylthio chains as substituents was synthesized (Figure 5) [58]. Bi-TTF 15a formed reddish orange rods which exhibited a bulk conductivity of σrt = 1.0 × 10−6 S cm−1 without doping. The p-type semiconductivity was detected by CS-AFM. Furthermore, the

Thiazole-induced rigidification in substituted dithieno-tetrathiafulvalene: the effect of planarisation on charge transport properties

• Rupert G. D. Taylor,
• Joseph Cameron,
• Iain A. Wright,
• Neil Thomson,
• Olena Avramchenko,
• Alexander L. Kanibolotsky,
• Anto R. Inigo,
• Tell Tuttle and
• Peter J. Skabara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1148–1154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.129

• compound 1. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used in order to analyse the surfaces of the devices fabricated. Shown below in Figure 6 are images from devices containing compound 2 with OTS and PFBT/OTS SAMs. The images look similar with a combination of small and large clusters covering the surface. This

• solutions in dichloromethane. Optimised structures of 1 (left), 2 (centre) and 3 (right). Output characteristics of OFETs fabricated using compound 2 in CHCl3 with OTS (top) and PFBT/OTS (bottom) as self-assembled monolayers. AFM images of OFET devices fabricated using compound 2 in CHCl3 with OTS (left

• : Full experimental and characterisation for compounds 1, 2 and 4–6, as well as OFET fabrication methods and AFM images of OFETs containing 2. Acknowledgements PJS thanks the Royal Society for a Wolfson Research Merit Award, ALK thanks the EPSRC for funding (EP/I029141), and RGDT thanks the EPSCR for

Single-molecule conductance of a chemically modified, π-extended tetrathiafulvalene and its charge-transfer complex with F₄TCNQ

• Raúl García,
• M. Ángeles Herranz,
• Edmund Leary,
• M. Teresa González,
• Gabino Rubio Bollinger,
• Marius Bürkle,
• Linda A. Zotti,
• Yoshihiro Asai,
• Fabian Pauly,
• Juan Carlos Cuevas,
• Nicolás Agraït and
• Nazario Martín

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 1068–1078, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.120

• ]. It is also rational to suppose that the, albeit charged, dithiole side groups of our CT complex would not strongly modify the conductance of the otherwise neutral anthracene-containing wire. Finally, we point out that recent conductive AFM measurements carried out on self-assembled monolayers of

Adsorption mechanism and valency of catechol-functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerols

• Stefanie Krysiak,
• Qiang Wei,
• Klaus Rischka,
• Andreas Hartwig,
• Rainer Haag and
• Thorsten Hugel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 828–836, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.92

• microscopy (AFM). The comparison of single catechols (dopamine) with multiple catechols on hyperbranched polyglycerols (hPG) at various pH and dwell times allowed us to further increase our understanding. In particular, we were able to elucidate how to achieve strong bonds of different valency. It was

• DOPA to metal oxides was studied with AFM force spectroscopy [11][12][13] and rupture forces of up to 1000 pN were measured. This is on the same order of magnitude compared to forces of around 1400 pN that have been measured for the rupture of covalent bonds [14][15][16]. Besides the strength of the

• unclear, which underscores how little is known about the nature of the interaction between the catechol group of DOPA and metal oxide surfaces. To determine the force of a single catechol group on titanium dioxide, we performed AFM single molecule force spectroscopy measurements with tips functionalized

Probing multivalency in ligand–receptor-mediated adhesion of soft, biomimetic interfaces

• Stephan Schmidt,
• Hanqing Wang,
• Daniel Pussak,
• Simone Mosca and
• Laura Hartmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 720–729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.82

• Equation 1). AFM force spectroscopy with a NanoWizard 3 system (JPK instruments AG, Berlin, Germany) was performed to determine the elastic modulus of the microparticles. As AFM probe a glass bead with a diameter of 5.1 µm was glued with an epoxy glue onto a tipless, non-coated cantilever (spring constant

IR and electrochemical synthesis and characterization of thin films of PEDOT grown on platinum single crystal electrodes in [EMMIM]Tf₂N ionic liquid

• Andrea P. Sandoval,
• Marco F. Suárez-Herrera and
• Juan M. Feliu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 348–357, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.40

• reaction of PEDOT were studied using in situ FTIR spectroscopy. Keywords: AFM; [EMMIM]Tf2N ionic liquid; in situ IR; PEDOT; Pt single crystals; Introduction Conducting polymers have been subject of an intense research during the last decades because they exhibit high conductivity and interesting optical

• redox processes of PEDOT films is faster in [EMMIM]Tf2N than in acetonitrile [6], which is a relevant characteristic feature for the use of PEDOT thin films to build electrochromic devices or actuators [12][26][27]. Morphology by AFM Figure 5 shows the AFM images of the polymer synthesized with a charge

• that the kinetics of the redox processes of PEDOT films is faster in [EMMIM]Tf2N than in acetonitrile, which is very useful to build electrochromic devices or actuators. Pt(111) and Pt(110) show almost the same characteristics in cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and AFM experiments. On the other

Organic chemistry on surfaces: Direct cyclopropanation by dihalocarbene addition to vinyl terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)

• Malgorzata Adamkiewicz,
• David O’Hagan and
• Georg Hähner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 2897–2902, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.307

• ], but this is not surprising given that the halogen functional group density is lower. Finally AFM images were recorded for the three dihalocyclopropane modified surfaces and they are shown in Figure 3a–c. In all cases the images are smooth and defect free. There was no excess of material observed from

• treated with the relevant carbene reaction solution. The expanded regions on the right hand side, associated with each C11-vinyl SAM spectrum, show the key halide specific XPS signals. AFM images of 5 μm × 5 μm area of C11-vinyl SAMs modified with a) :CBr2 carbene, RMS 93 pm; b) :CCl2 carbene, RMS 101 pm

Solution processable diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) cored small molecules with BODIPY end groups as novel donors for organic solar cells

• Diego Cortizo-Lacalle,
• Calvyn T. Howells,
• Upendra K. Pandey,
• Joseph Cameron,
• Neil J. Findlay,
• Anto Regis Inigo,
• Tell Tuttle,
• Peter J. Skabara and
• Ifor D. W. Samuel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 2683–2695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.283

• Information File 1). AFM images (Figure 12) show bead-like aggregates for 9:PC71BM (1:3) and 10:PC71BM (1:3). The aggregates are larger for 10:PC71BM (1:3) than 9:PC71BM (1:3), while the maximum height observed with 10:PC71BM (1:3) is 4.3 nm compared to 2.2 nm for 9:PC71BM (1:3). These small aggregates are

• nm thick (Figure S7, Supporting Information File 1). Figures S11 and S12 (Supporting Information File 1) show tapping mode AFM images of height and phase for 10:PC71BM (1:3). Here we see an aggregate of 5.1 nm height, which is more than double the size of that for 9:PC71BM (1:3). To further

• microscopy (AFM). Theoretical calculations DFT optimisations were carried out in TURBOMOLE 6.3.1 [57] using B97-D [58] functional with def2-TZVP [59] basis set in dichloromethane using COSMO [60] solvent model. RI-J [61] approximation was implemented for these optimisations. TDDFT [62] and CHelpG [51

The effect of permodified cyclodextrins encapsulation on the photophysical properties of a polyfluorene with randomly distributed electron-donor and rotaxane electron-acceptor units

• Aurica Farcas,
• Ana-Maria Resmerita,
• Pierre-Henri Aubert,
• Flavian Farcas,
• Iuliana Stoica and
• Anton Airinei

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 2145–2156, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.222

• lifetime of τ2 = 1.56 ns (42.92%) were determined. The optical and electrochemical band gaps (ΔEg) as well as the ionization potential and electronic affinity characterized by smaller values compared to the values of any of the constituents. AFM reveals that the film surface of 4a and 4b displays a

• investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Multiple scans with sides of 1 to 20 μm were carried out over square areas. Selected representative images obtained for the non-rotaxane 4, 4a and 4b polyrotaxanes over areas of 20 × 20 µm2 and 5 × 5 µm2 are shown in Figure 10. Based on the calculated

• and studied in the interval −2.5 and +2.0 V vs Ag wire. Cathodic and anodic scans were performed independently. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images were collected in semi-contact mode with a Solver PRO-M (NT-MDT Co, Zelenograd, Moscow, Russia) by means of a commercially available NSG03 rectangular

Bis(β-lactosyl)-[60]fullerene as novel class of glycolipids useful for the detection and the decontamination of biological toxins of the Ricinus communis family

• Hirofumi Dohi,
• Takeru Kanazawa,
• Akihiro Saito,
• Keita Sato,
• Hirotaka Uzawa,
• Yasuo Seto and
• Yoshihiro Nishida

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1504–1512, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.155

• mono- and bis(α-D-mannopyranosyl)-[60]fullerenes in both AFM (atomic force microscopy) and DLS analyses. Probably, the smaller particles are bilayer vesicles that are stable in DMSO and pyridine while they can be destructed in parts by treatment with surfactants such as Triton-X [25]. These nano-sized

Molecular recognition of surface-immobilized carbohydrates by a synthetic lectin

• Melanie Rauschenberg,
• Eva-Corrina Fritz,
• Christian Schulz,
• Tobias Kaufmann and
• Bart Jan Ravoo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1354–1364, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.138

• ]. In addition, atomic force microscopy (AFM) of patterned epoxide SAMs was performed to verify the success of the printing process. The AFM height profiles of a pattern of NANA ink printed with a patterned stamp (10 μm stripes that are spaced by a 5 μm gap) as well as a cross printed pattern obtained

• obtained spectra were analyzed using the Casa XPS (version 2.3.15, Casa software Ltd, Teignmouth/UK) software and were referenced to the C(1s)-peak of the saturated hydrocarbons by setting it to 285 eV. All measurements were carried out on silicon substrates. Atomic force microscopy (AFM): AFM images were

• flat PDMS stamp. Optical microscopy images of water droplets selectively condensed in the areas where (A) the NANA ink and (B) the Gal ink were patterned by μCP on an epoxide-terminated SAM. (A) AFM height image (zoom) of NANA ink in 10 μm stripes on an epoxide-terminated SAM; (B) Height profile of the

Atherton–Todd reaction: mechanism, scope and applications

• Stéphanie S. Le Corre,
• Mathieu Berchel,
• Hélène Couthon-Gourvès,
• Jean-Pierre Haelters and
• Paul-Alain Jaffrès

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1166–1196, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.117

Novel indolin-2-one-substituted methanofullerenes bearing long n-alkyl chains: synthesis and application in bulk-heterojunction solar cells

• Irina P. Romanova,
• Andrei V. Bogdanov,
• Inessa A. Izdelieva,
• Vasily A. Trukhanov,
• Gulnara R. Shaikhutdinova,
• Dmitry G. Yakhvarov,
• Shamil K. Latypov,
• Vladimir F. Mironov,
• Vladimir A. Dyakov,
• Ilya V. Golovnin,
• Dmitry Yu. Paraschuk and
• Oleg G. Sinyashin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1121–1128, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.111

• conversion efficiencies of about 2% were measured in the P3HT/AIM devices with 1:0.4 P3HT:AIM weight ratio for the AIMs with hexadecyl and dodecyl substituents. From the optical and AFM data, we suggested that the AIMs, in contrast to [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), do not disturb the P3HT

• solar cells as compared with P3HT/PCBM ones and the negative effect of thermal annealing. As a result, according to the optical data, the higher AIM solubility does not provide the better miscibility between the AIM and the P3HT crystalline phase. This is in agreement with the AFM data (see below

• unbalanced transport of electrons and holes in the active layer and space charge formation, which decreases the photocurrent and PCE [20]. The surface of the P3HT/AIM blended films was studied by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). Generally, the P3HT/AIM 7–9 films showed a phase separated morphology with a

A new building block for DNA network formation by self-assembly and polymerase chain reaction

• Holger Bußkamp,
• Sascha Keller,
• Marta Robotta,
• Malte Drescher and
• Andreas Marx

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1037–1046, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.104

• hydrogels. Keywords: AFM; branched DNA; DNA; DNA polymerase; nanotechnology; nucleic acids; PCR; self-assembly; Introduction DNA has found applications in the field of nanotechnology due to its inherent properties. The simplicity and predictability of DNA secondary structure are of outstanding potential

• products were observed in the absence of template DNA under identical conditions (see Supporting Information File 1). Characterization of DNA networks. The formed DNA networks were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) using the tapping mode [43][44]. The original sample solutions were diluted to a

• total amount of 10 ng/µL DNA for AFM measurements with buffer (10 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 1 mM NiCl2). Freshly cleaved mica was incubated with the sample following a multistep protocol (see Supporting Information File 1). As control, the PCR products of standard linear primer strands were investigated first

Enhancement of efficiency in organic photovoltaic devices containing self-complementary hydrogen-bonding domains

• Rohan J. Kumar,
• Jegadesan Subbiah and
• Andrew B. Holmes

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 1102–1110, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.122

• gel formation at the highest concentrations, indicating the formation of high-aspect-ratio nanofibers in solution [33]. Films drop cast from 1 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL solutions of 2 in chloroform were investigated by AFM in order to directly observe any nanostructures present. A representative scan at each

• of nanostructures as observed by AFM and the gelation behaviour at high concentration. Alternatively, isodesmic self-association to form one dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains of 2 may incur conformational changes in 2 for steric reasons, which could result in changes to the 1H chemical shifts of 2

• under isodesmic kinetic control. The formation of interconnected nanostructures by 2, as observed in the AFM experiments, also leads to the interpretation of the 1H NMR self-association data as the formation of one-dimensional chains of 2. One possible mode of self-complementary interaction leading to

Spin state switching in iron coordination compounds

• Philipp Gütlich,
• Ana B. Gaspar and
• Yann Garcia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 342–391, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.39

Self-assembled organic–inorganic magnetic hybrid adsorbent ferrite based on cyclodextrin nanoparticles

• Ângelo M. L. Denadai,
• Frederico B. De Sousa,
• Joel J. Passos,
• Fernando C. Guatimosim,
• Kirla D. Barbosa,
• Ana E. Burgos,
• Fernando Castro de Oliveira,
• Jeann C. da Silva,
• Bernardo R. A. Neves,
• Nelcy D. S. Mohallem and
• Rubén D. Sinisterra

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1867–1876, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.215

• microscopy (AFM). Size distribution and colloidal suspension stability were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and sedimentation kinetic studies by using UV–vis spectroscopy. Ferrite binding sites were characterized by zeta potential (ZP) and potentiometric titration. The free volume for both

• different aggregation levels, these materials were investigated in the solid state by SEM, TEM and AFM and also in aqueous suspension by using DLS. AFM images of Fe-Ni/Zn and Fe-Ni/Zn/βCD are presented in Figure 1. Based on these images, nanoparticles below 100 nm were verified for these materials. Looking

• nanoparticles, size domains are smaller than those observed for the material prepared without the macromolecule. These results corroborate the hypothesis considering the size-modulator effect of βCD proposed previously based on the analysis of the AFM images. Fe-Ni/Zn and Fe-Ni/Zn/βCD were also analyzed in

Synthesis and characterization of low-molecular-weight π-conjugated polymers covered by persilylated β-cyclodextrin

• Aurica Farcas,
• Ana-Maria Resmerita,
• Andreea Stefanache,
• Mihaela Balan and
• Valeria Harabagiu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1505–1514, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.170

• chemical structure and the thermal and morphological properties of the resulting polyrotaxane were investigated by using NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA, DSC and AFM analysis. The encapsulation of BT inside the PS-βCD cavity results in improvements in the solubility, as well as in different surface

• the influence on the surface morphological properties induced by using 3T as an end-capping reagent instead of bromobenzene [12], AFM experiments were also performed. The 2D AFM images of the top surface of both copolymer films, within the same scan areas of 2 × 2 μm2 are shown in Figure 7a and Figure

•  7b (insets show the 3D images). They afforded the root-mean-square roughness of the formations (Sq) and the average roughness (µ) as well as the average heights (Ha), see Table 3. The 3D AFM images of the complexed PDOF-BTc film (insets Figure 7b) show more favourable surface parameters in comparison

Intraannular photoreactions in pseudo-geminally substituted [2.2]paracyclophanes

• Henning Hopf,
• Vitaly Raev and
• Peter G. Jones

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 658–667, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.78

• the term “topochemical principle” or “topochemistry” for (non)reactivity determined by a limiting distance between the reactive groups [2][3][4]. Although the model found widespread acceptance, many exceptions to the concept were known from the very beginning [5]. Later, AFM techniques enabled

Self-assembly and semiconductivity of an oligothiophene supergelator

• Pampa Pratihar,
• Suhrit Ghosh,
• Vladimir Stepanenko,
• Sameer Patwardhan,
• Ferdinand C. Grozema,
• Laurens D. A. Siebbeles and
• Frank Würthner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2010, 6, 1070–1078, doi:10.3762/bjoc.6.122

• . The charge transport ability of such elongated fibres of quaterthiophene π-system was explored by the pulse radiolysis time resolved microwave conductivity (PR-TRMC) technique and moderate mobility values were obtained. Furthermore, initial AFM and UV-vis spectroscopic studies of a mixture of our

• ability of T1 to gelate such a wide range of solvents and its significantly low CGC values can be attributed to the favourable balance between the self-assembly propensity of the gelator and good solubility due to the presence of the trialkoxybenzamide groups. AFM investigations The topology of gels of

• quaterthiophene derivative T1 was examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the tapping mode. As an illustrative example, the AFM images of T1 gel in MCH deposited on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) are shown in Figure 1. These images clearly show interconnected long fibers a few micrometers in length