Synthesis, electrochemistry, and hierarchical self-organization of fulleropyrrolidine–phthalimide dyads

Abstract

A series of novel fulleropyrrolidine–phthalimide dyads was synthesized and their electrochemical and self-assembly properties were investigated. Efficient synthesis of acceptor– acceptor dyads was performed under microwave irradiation. Fine-tuning of the second redox potentials in the dyads was achieved by varying the length of the aliphatic spacer (C2 to C12) between the fulleropyrrolidine and phthalimide moieties. Shape-shifting and supramolecular polymorphism were observed for these compounds during self-assembly.