Phosphole modified pentathienoacene: synthesis, electronic properties and self-assembly

A series of new ladder π-conjugated materials, phosphole modified pentathienoacene (PO-PTA), are synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray results demonstrate that methyl-disubstituted PO-PTA forms a face-to-face dimer structure driven by π-π interactions. The investigations of optical properties showed that the oxidized phosphole moiety in this ladder system can effectively narrow the band gap. PO-PTA is a promising building block in π-conjugated polymers and oligomers for optoelectronic applications. The derivative of PO-PTA, obtained by introducing four long alkyl chains, can self-assemble into one-dimensional (1D) fibers based on intermolecular π-π interactions, dipole-dipole interactions and van der Waals interactions. Interestingly, the uniform and well-ordered monolayers were also obtained for PO-PTA derivative on a HOPG (highly oriented pyrolytic graphite) surface.