Unveiling the robustness of porphyrin crystalline nanowires toward aggressive chemicals

Abstract

One of the keys for the development of porphyrin-based devices implies that their functionality must be robust and stable against external environmental factors. While the research has been mostly focused on the supramolecular aggregate interactions with target chemicals, the robustness of organic nanostructures in contaminating and even aggressive environments has not been diffusely investigated yet. The results here presented show that crystalline nanowires of meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin (H2TPP) and meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin-Zn(II) (ZnTPP) are insensitive to the exposure to a series of purposely chosen analytes (alcohols, alkanes and amines). Our finding suggests possible applications of the nanowires in organic-based devices (overwhelming the well-known intrinsic weakness of organic electronics), related to material stability through an appropriate material design and the opportunity offered by organic epitaxy.