Controlling Solid-State Packing and Properties of Conjugated Materials with Discrete Aromatic Interactions of Side Chains

In organic semiconductors, molecular conformations and packings in the solid state determine in large part the materials properties critical to their use in power conversion and storage technologies and low- power (opto)electronics. Here we will use a combination of synthesis, theory, and experimentation to understand how noncovalent intermolecular interactions, in particular the balance between non- directional and non-specific dispersion interactions and highly directional electrostatic interactions, determine molecular solid-state packing. The work aims to derive fundamental insights into these factors with the aim to use the knowledge to design new molecular motifs for controlled molecular packing and materials properties.