Stepped Strips from Self-Organization of Oligo(p-phenylene) Rods with Lateral Dendritic Chains

Abstract

We have demonstrated that the rod segments with lateral dendritic chains self-assemble into unique stepped strips in which the rods are aligned parallel to the strip long axis. This unique organization of the rod segments arises from a balance between the energetic gain of a parallel arrangement of the rods and the resulting entropic penalty associated with stretching of the lateral flexible chains.