Highly Segregated Lamello-Columnar Mesophase Organizations and Fast Charge Carrier Mobility in New Discotic Donor-Acceptor Triads

Four new donor–acceptor triads (D–A–D) based on discotic and arylene mesogens have been synthesized by using Sonogashira coupling and cyclization reactions. This family of triads consists of two side‐on pending triphenylene mesogens, acting as the electron‐donating groups (D), laterally connected through short lipophilic spacers to a central perylenediimide (PI), benzo[ghi]perylenediimide (BI), or coronenediimide (CI) molecular unit, respectively, playing the role of the electron acceptor (A). All D–A–D triads self‐organize to form a lamello‐columnar oblique mesophase, with a highly segregated donor–acceptor (D–A) heterojunction organization, consequent to efficient molecular self‐sorting. The structure consists in the regular alternation of two disrupted rows of triphenylene columns and a continuous row of diimine species. High‐resolution STM images demonstrate that PI‐TP2 forms stable 2D self‐assembly nanostructures with some various degrees of regularity, whereas the other triads do not self‐organize into ordered architectures. The electron‐transport mobility of CI‐TP2, measured by time‐of‐flight at 200 °C in the mesophase, is one order of magnitude higher than the hole mobility. By means of this specific molecular designing idea, we realized and demonstrated for the first time the so‐called p–n heterojunction at the molecular level in which the electron‐rich triphenylene columns act as the hole transient pathways, and the coronenediimide stacks form the electron‐transport channels. D–A discotic‐based triads: A new family of donor–acceptor (D–A) discotic‐based triads, forming mesomorphic semiconductors with long‐range ordered supramolecular architectures and high electronic charge mobility, have been designed and synthesized for their potential use in optoelectronic devices (see figure).