Orderly Arranged Cubic Quantum Dots along Supramolecular Templates of Naphthalenediimide Aggregates

Abstract

Precise control of assembled structures of quantum dots (QDs) is crucial for realizing the desired photophysical properties, but this remains challenging. Especially, the one-dimensional (1D) control is rare due to the nearly isotropic nature of QDs. Herein, we propose a novel strategy for controlling the 1D-arrangement range of cubic perovskite QDs in solution based on the morphological modification of a supramolecular polymer (SP) template. The original template with a short and tangled fibrous structure is prepared in a low-polarity solvent mixture via self-assembly of a naphthalenediimide-functionalized cholesterol derivative with an adhesion group for QDs. Mixing this template with QDs leads to the co-aggregation into short-range 1D-arrays of QDs on the templates. Notably, subsequent heating and cooling of the co-aggregate solution forms longer-range 1D-arrays of QDs with lateral growth, where arranged QDs are sandwiched between reconstructed SP templates. Furthermore, the longer-range 1D-array of QDs is achieved via an alternative route involving the pre-organization of templates into longer and dispersed fibers by heating and cooling of the original template, succeeded by co-assembly with QDs. Finally, we reveal continuous fluorescence resonance energy transfer between 1D-arranged QDs by an in-depth analysis of the photoluminescence decay curves.