Design and Growth of Branched Organic Crystals: Recent Advances and Future Applications.

The rapid development of information technology has resulted in a growing demand for low-dimensional photonic materials. Organic semiconductor materials play an important role in various photonic devices due to their adjustable physicochemical properties, while individual organic crystals do not exhibit the desired performance due to the limitations of their simple structure. Branched organic crystals with inherent multichannel characteristics based on π-conjugated molecules are favorable components in optoelectronics. However, the preparation of branched organic crystals still faces great challenges before they can be applied in integrated optoelectronic devices. In this Review, the development and representative examples of branched organic crystals in terms of molecular design, synthesis, and advanced applications are discussed. We also provide a summary and outlook for the direction of future research on branched organic crystals as excellent candidates in photonic integrated circuits.