1D nano- and microbelts self-assembled from the organic-inorganic hybrid molecules: oxadiazole-containing cyclotriphosphazene.

A new oxadiazole-containing cyclotriphosphazene, namely, hexakis-(4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxazodiazol-2-yl)-phenoxy)-cyclotriphosphazene (HPCP) was synthesized. Single-crystal nano- and microbelts of HPCP were self-assembly via two simple solution methods. The shapes of the as-prepared nano- and microstructures can be readily controlled by varying the solvent and aging time in the self-assembly process. A growth mechanism was proposed for the formation of the 1D morphological structures. Crystal structure analysis demonstrated that the overlap between the aryl units attached to the cyclotriphosphazene backbone forms effective intermolecular π-π linking for crystal growth. Electronic and optical properties of the as-prepared nano- and microstructures are investigated.