Core‐chlorinated naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimides (NDIs) with fluoroalkyl chains are synthesized and employed for n‐channel organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs). Structural analyses of the single crystals and thin films are performed and their charge‐transport behavior is investigated in terms of structure–property relationships. NDIs with two chlorine substituents are shown to exhibit a herringbone structure with a very close π‐plane distance (3.3–3.4 Å), a large π‐stack overlap (slipping angle ca. 62°), and high crystal densities (2.046–2.091 g cm−3). These features result in excellent field‐effect mobilities of up to 1.43 cm2 V−1 s−1 with minimal hysteresis and high on–off ratios (ca. 107) in air. This is similar to the highest n‐channel mobilities in air reported so far. Despite the repulsive interactions of bulky Cl substituents, tetrachlorinated NDIs adopt a slip‐stacked face‐to‐face packing with an interplanar distance of around 3.4 Å, resulting in a high mobility (up to 0.44 cm2 V−1 s−1). The air‐stability of dichlorinated NDIs is superior to that of tetrachlorinated NDIs, despite of their higher LUMO levels. This is closely related to the denser packing of the fluorocarbon chains of dichlorinated NDIs, which serves as a kinetic barrier to the diffusion of ambient oxidants. Interestingly, these NDIs show an optimal performance either on bare SiO2 or on octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTS)‐treated SiO2, depending on the carbon number of the fluoroalkyl chains. Their synthetic simplicity and processing versatility combined with their high performance make these semiconductors highly promising for practical applications in flexible electronics.

The prevalent occurrence of herbicide resistant weeds increases the necessity for new site of action herbicides for effective control as well as to relax selection pressure on the known sites of action. As a consequence, interest increased in the unexploited molecule cinmethylin as a new solution for the control of weedy grasses in cereals. Therefore, the mechanism of action of cinmethylin was reevaluated. We applied the chemoproteomic approach cellular Target Profiling™ from Evotec to identify the cinmethylin target in Lemna paucicostata protein extracts. We found three potential targets belonging to the same protein family of fatty acid thioesterases (FAT) to bind to cinmethylin with high affinity. Binding of cinmethylin to FAT proteins from Lemna and Arabidopsis was confirmed by fluorescence-based thermal shift assay. The plastid localized enzyme FAT plays a crucial role in plant lipid biosynthesis, by mediating the release of fatty acids (FA) from its acyl carrier protein (ACP) which is necessary for FA export to the endoplasmic reticulum. GC-MS analysis of free FA composition in Lemna extracts revealed strong reduction of unsaturated C18 as well as saturated C14, and C16 FAs upon treatment with cinmethylin, indicating that FA release for subsequent lipid biosynthesis is the primary target of cinmethylin. Lipid biosynthesis is a prominent target of different herbicide classes. To assess whether FAT inhibition constitutes a new mechanism of action within this complex pathway, we compared physiological effects of cinmethylin to different ACCase and VLCFA synthesis inhibitors and identified characteristic differences in plant symptomology and free FA composition upon treatment with the three herbicide classes. Also, principal component analysis of total metabolic profiling of treated Lemna plants showed strong differences in overall metabolic changes after cinmethylin, ACCase or VLCFA inhibitor treatments. Our results identified and confirmed FAT as the cinmethylin target and validate FAT inhibition as a new site of action different from other lipid biosynthesis inhibitor classes.

Molecular and crystal engineering rendered high‐performance organic thin‐film transistors (TFTs) based on a highly electron‐poor octachloroperylene diimide (Cl8‐PTCDI). In their Communication on F. Würthner, Z. Bao, and co‐workers report an intriguing supramolecular crystal engineering concept that directs two‐dimensional π–π‐stacked percolation paths for electron transport and affords TFTs with excellent mobilities and on‐to‐off current ratios under atmospheric conditions.

In this study the charge dissociation at the donor/acceptor heterointerface of thermally evaporated planar heterojunction merocyanine/C 60 organic solar cells is investigated. Deposition of the donor material on a heated substrate as well as post-annealing of the complete devices at temperatures above the glass transition temperature of the donor material results in a twofold increase of the fill factor. An analytical model employing an electric-fielddependent exciton dissociation mechanism reveals that geminate recombination is limiting the performance of as-deposited cells. Fourier-transform infrared ellipsometry shows that, at temperatures above the glass transition temperature of the donor material, the orientation of the dye molecules in the donor films undergoes changes upon annealing. Based on this finding, the influence of the dye molecules' orientations on the charge-transfer state energies is calculated by quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics methods. The results of these detailed studies provide new insight into the exciton dissociation process in organic photovoltaic devices, and thus valuable guidelines for designing new donor materials.

Twisted up: Perchlorination of perylene diimide afforded an exceptionally electron‐poor organic semiconductor molecule (see picture; C black, Cl green, O red, N blue, H white) that crystallizes in an ideal brickstone arrangement with close π–π and chlorine–chlorine contacts. Vapor‐deposited thin films of this molecule show excellent transistor performance, even in air (μ≈0.8 cm2 V−1 s−1, Ion/Ioff≈108).