Imaging on a Vapor Deposited Film by Photopolymerization of a Rod-Like Molecule Consisting of Two Diacetylenic Groups

A linear rod-like molecule, bis[4-(1,3-octadynyl)phenyl] terephthalate (2), consisting of two diacetylenic groups, was prepared. The unsymmetric diacetylene was prepared by the Cadiot-Chodkiewicz coupling reaction of 1-bromohexyne with 4-ethynylphenol and linked to a benzene core by an esterification reaction with terephthaloyl chloride in tetrahydrofuran. The thin film (200 nm thickness) of compound 2 was fabricated by the physical vapor deposition on a glass plate with a thermal evaporator. In the X-ray diffraction (XRD) study, the vapor deposited film on the glass plate showed peaks with d spacings of 19.4, 5.7, and 4.5 $\AA$. This XRD pattern was quite different from that observed for compound 2 isolated by recrystallization from methylene chloride/hexane. The vapor deposited film was polymerized by UV irradiation. Photopolymerization was carried out through a photomask, resulting in a patterned image, where the irradiated part became isotropic.