The application of fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazines in conjugated organic polymers has been found to be a powerful approach to the production of low band gap materials. While thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based materials date back to the early 1990s, significant advances in the preparation and scope of thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based materials have been reported in recent years, primarily in response to the increasing demand for reduced band gap materials in photovoltaic devices. In this review, we provide an overview of thieno[3,4-b]pyrazines and their application to conjugated materials, highlighting in particular the recent advances in the breadth of thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine building blocks and the promise of tuning materials to achieve optimal properties for specific applications.

The synthesis and characterization of the extended thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogues acenaphtho[1,2-b]thieno[3,4-e]pyrazine (3a), 3,4-dibromoacenaphtho[1,2-b]thieno[3,4-e]pyrazine (3b), 3-octylacenaphtho[1,2-b]thieno[3,4-e]pyrazine (3c), dibenzo[f,h]thieno[3,4-b]quinoxaline (4), and thieno[3',4':5,6]pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline (5) are reported. Comparison of structural, electrochemical, and photophysical properties to those of simple thieno[3,4-b]pyrazines are provided in order to provide structure-function relationships within this series of compounds.

Synthetic methods have been developed for the preparation of new 2,3-dihalo- and 2,3-ditriflato-5,7-bis(2-thienyl)thieno[3,4-b]pyrazines. From these reactive intermediates, a variety of new 2,3-difunctionalized 5,7-bis(2-thienyl)thieno[3,4-b]pyrazines have been produced as precursors to conjugated materials. Structural, electronic, and optical characterization of these new analogues illustrate the extent to which the electronic nature of the functional groups can be used to tune the electronic properties of these thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyl units.

This review describes the synthesis and characterization of thieno[3,4‐b]pyrazines and its extended fused‐ring analogs as important building blocks for the production of low‐band gap conjugated materials.

The synthesis, characterization, and electropolymerization of a series of extended fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyls are reported. The target terthienyls contain a central extended thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogue containing 2-thienyl units at the reactive α-positions of the central thiophene. The extended fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogues studied include acenaphtho[1,2-b]thieno[3,4-e]pyrazine, dibenzo[f,h]thieno[3,4-b]quinoxaline, and thieno[3′,4′:5,6]-pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline. Comparison of the electrochemical and photophysical properties to simple thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyls and their polymeric analogues are reported in order to provide structure-function relationships within this series of compounds and materials.