The synthesis and spectroscopic properties of a series of boron-free meso-aryl-substituted [14]triphyrin(2.1.1) compounds containing either peripheral bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene (BCOD) (2a−c) or benzene rings (3a−c) (aryl = phenyl a, 4-fluorophenyl b, and 4-methylbenzoatephenyl c) are reported. These compounds represent the first examples of free-base contracted porphyrinoids with 14 π-electron aromatic systems containing only the standard pyrrole and isoindoline moieties of the porphyrins and tetrabenzoporphyrins.

A novel alpha-diketone precursor of pentacene, 6,13-dihydro-6,13-ethanopentacene-15,16-dione, was prepared and converted successfully to pentacene in 74 % yield by photolysis of the precursor in toluene: Irradiation of the diketone solution in toluene with light of 460 nm under an Ar atmosphere caused the solution to change from yellow to fluorescent orange-pink within a few minutes, after which, purple precipitates appeared. After 35 min, the solution changed to colorless and the purple precipitates were filtered to give pentacene in 74 % yield. By contrast, in the presence of oxygen, the color of the solution changed from yellow to pale yellow, and only 6,13-endoperoxide of pentacene was quantitatively obtained. The rate of the reaction upon photolysis was measured by observing the decay of n-pi* absorption of the precursor at 460 nm, and was found to be similar in both the presence and absence of oxygen. Therefore, the photoreaction of the alpha-diketone precursor seemed to occur via the singlet excited state. Because the T-T absorption of pentacene was observed upon photolysis of the precursor in the nanosecond transient absorption measurement under an Ar atmosphere, the excited triplet state of the pentacene generated singlet oxygen by sensitization, and it reacted with the ground-state pentacene to give the 6,13-endoperoxide. The alpha-diketone deposited on glass was also converted successfully to pentacene film by photoirradiation. In addition, diketone precursors of a mixture of 2,8- and 2,9-dibromopentacene and 2,6-trianthrylene were also prepared and their photoconversion was performed.

The metal-free and meso-free [14]triphyrin(2.1.1) compound was successfully prepared based on the intramolecular McMurry coupling reaction of diformyl-tripyrrane in 16% yield, and was converted to the bowl-shaped Mn(I)(TriP)(CO)(3) and Re(I)(TriP)(CO)(3).

Solution processable organic semiconducting small molecules are desirable for the manufacture of low-cost, large-area electronic products on flexible substrates. This article provides an overview of recent progress in OFETs based on solution processable small molecules that can be converted to insoluble organic semiconducting materials on films by thermal or photochemical removal of leaving groups after fabrication of the film.

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A core-expanded, pyrrole-fused azacoronene analogue containing two unusual N-doped heptagons was obtained from commercially available octafluoronaphthalene and 3,4-diethylpyrrole in two steps as a heteroatom-doped nonplanar nanographene. Full fusion with the formation of the tetraazadipleiadiene framework and the longitudinally twisted structure was unambiguously confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The edge-to-edge dihedral angle along the acene moiety was 63°. This electron-rich π-system showed four reversible oxidation peaks. Despite the nonplanar structure, the Hückel aromaticity owing to a peripheral π-conjugation in the dicationic state was concluded from the bond-length alternation and nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) and anisotropy of the induced current density (ACID) calculations.

The first facile syntheses of free-base di- and tetrabenzoporphycenes and their metal complexes are reported, based on retro-Diels-Alder reactions of the corresponding bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene-fused porphycenes, prepared by McMurray coupling of alpha,alpha'-diformyldipyrrole. The photophysical and electrochemical properties are analyzed based on UV/Vis absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and fluorescence emission, lifetime and quantum yield measurements, cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry (CV and DPV) and time-dependent DFT calculations based on B3LYP geometry optimizations. Benzoporphycenes are found to be prime candidates for future use in photodynamic therapy.

Novel bisimide-fused acenes were synthesized via bismuth triflate mediated double-cyclization reaction of acid chlorides and isocyanates. Their optical and electrical properties revealed significantly smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps compared with those of their parent acenes. Fabricated OFET based on tetracene bisimide showed n-type OFET outputs.