Explore Synthesis and Structural Determination of Crystalline Supramolecular Polyaniline Thin-Films and 2D Polyanilines Assisted by Electron Diffraction and TEM Imaging

线型聚苯胺导电聚合物由于其独特的二维结构以及易于集成、高电荷传输和高性能稳定性等优点，在电子器件领域的发展受到了极大的关注。然而，由于缺乏合理的合成方法，结晶二维聚苯胺膜的制备一直是一个挑战。该项目旨在开发一种表面活性剂辅助的水中合成方法，以制备高结晶的超分子聚苯胺薄膜和具有大尺寸结晶区(尺寸至少为100 nm到1微米)和厚度可控(从单层到几层的L)的二维共价聚苯胺(2DCP)。通过使用设计的单体，我们将实现光学和能隙工程，以及共轭通道密度。重要的是，我们将通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)表征技术揭示2D聚苯胺的晶体结构(如分子结构、单晶尺寸、晶界结构)，并对其合成机理有基本的了解。此外，我们还将研究二维聚苯胺的电导性质，并建立可靠的结构-电子性质关系。作为关键成果，我们希望建立一条通用而可靠的合成路线，开发用于有机电子的新型导电二维聚苯胺。

The development of linear polyaniline conducting polymer into two-dimensional (2D) structure has attracted much attention for electronic devices because of the unique 2D features as well as facile device integration, high charge transport and high-performance stability. However, the achievement of crystalline 2D polyaniline film has remained a challenge due to the lack of rational synthesis methods. The project aims to develop a surfactant-monolayer-assisted on-water synthesis method towards highly crystalline supramolecular polyaniline thin-films and 2D covalent polyanilines (2DCPs) with large-sized crystalline domains (from at least 100 nm to 1 micro meter in size) and controlled thickness (from monolayer to few-layer (<10 L)). By employing designed monomers, we will accomplish optical and energy gap engineering, and conjugation channel densities. Importantly, we will disclose the crystalline structures of 2D polyanilines (e.g. molecular structure, single-crystalline grain size, grain edge/boundary structures) via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization techniques and achieve fundamental understanding on the synthetic mechanism. Furthermore, we will investigate the conductivity properties and establish a reliable structure-electronic property relationship of resulting 2D polyanilines. As the key achievements, we expect to establish a general but reliable synthesis route and develop novel conducting 2D polyanilines for organic electronics.