Perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) is an organic dye molecule and an organic semiconductor. It is used as a precursor to a class of molecules known as Rylene dyes, which are useful as pigments and dyes. It is a dark red solid with low solubility in aromatic solvents. The compound has attracted much interest as an organic semiconductor.
Structure PTCDA consists of a perylene core to which two anhydride groups have been attached, one at either side. It occurs in two crystalline forms, α and β. Both have the P21/c monoclinic symmetry and a density of ca. 1.7 g/cm3, which is relatively high for organic compounds. Their lattice parameters are:
Form a b c γ α 0.374 nm 1.196 nm 1.734 nm 98.8° β 0.378 nm 1.930 nm 1.077 nm 83.6°
Self-assembly and films
Use
The main industrial use of PTCDA is as a precursor to Rylene dyes.Hunger, K. and Herbst, W. (2012) "Pigments, Organic" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Greene, M. (2009) "Perylene Pigments", pp. 261–274 in High Performance Pigments, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.
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