Hexathienoacene: Synthesis, Characterization, and Thin-Film Transistors
Synthesis of hexathienoacene (HTA): To a stirred solution of sulfide 3
(2 g, 5.5 mmol) in anhydrous diethyl ether (100 mL) was added a 2.5m so-
lution of nBuLi in hexane (10 mL, 25 mmol) under a nitrogen atmos-
phere at À108C. The mixture was stirred for 2 h and then added to a vig-
orously-stirred suspension of anhydrous CuCl2 (3.38 g, 25 mmol) at 08C
in diethyl ether (30 mL). The mixture was allowed to warm and was
stirred at room temperature for further 12 h. After removal of diethyl
ether under reduced pressure, the residual was washed with dilute acid
(5% HCl), water, methanol, then with acetone three times to remove the
starting material. Further purification was carried out by sublimation
three times to give HTA (120 mg, 6%) as yellow solids. HRMS
(MALDI): m/z calcd for [C14H4S6]: 363.8637; found: 363.8639. Elemental
analysis (%) calcd for C14H4S6: C 46.12, H 1.11, S 52.77; found: C 46.04,
H 1.39, S 52.65.
a
bit lower charge mobility than that of PTA
(0.0043 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1). The experimental results are in good ac-
cordance with the calculated mobility trend by DFT calcula-
tions (hole transfer mobility: HTA 0.48 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1, PTA
0.55 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1) whereby PTA displayed quite good OTFT
performance as p-type semiconductors of oligothienoacenes.
For the same device geometry of semiconductor evaporated
onto a SiO2/Si substrate fabricated by our group, the grain
sizes for PTA were on the order of 0.8ꢁ2.5 mm2 at Tsub
=
808C with the best mobility of 0.045 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1 while the
grain sizes for HTA were much smaller at Tsub =1008C, on
the order of 0.2ꢁ0.2 mm2, with its best mobility of
0.0059 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1. This difference of an order of magnitude
in mobility is due to the difference in grain sizes observed
by AFM images of the thin films when Tsub is changed, with
smaller grains and poorer surface coverage noted for HTA
than for PTA. It is demonstrated that the performances of
field effect transistors are not enhanced largely by using
HTA as semiconductor. Research interest has primarily fo-
cused on further extension of the conjugation, as in HTA,
resulting in low mobility relative to PTA. Modification of
the substrate with a self-assembled monolayer of OTS or PS
was found to greatly improve the device performance rela-
tive to untreated SiO2/Si substrates. The best performance
of mobility (0.06 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1) and an on/off ratio of 7ꢁ105
were obtained at Tsub =208C on OTS-treated SiO2/Si. A mo-
bility of 0.03 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1 and an on/off ratio of 2ꢁ103 were
obtained at Tsub =208C on PS-treated SiO2/Si.
Acknowledgements
The present research was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (20825208, 60736004, 60911130231,
20721061, 20973184, 60901050), the National Major State Basic Research
Development Program (2006CB806203, 2006CB932103, 2009CB623603),
and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Keywords: acenes
·
conjugation
·
density functional
calculations · sulfur · transistors
In conclusion, we have synthesized a new linear six-thio-
phene-fused system of hexathienoacene and succeeded in its
application for OTFTs. Our work actually affords the exper-
imental results for the theoretical studies. We have demon-
strated that further extension of the conjugation of oligo-
thienoacenes does not increase the transistor performance,
which would be valuable for the design and development of
new organic semiconductors. The high mobility of
0.06 cm2 VÀ1 sÀ1 with current on/off ratio larger than 105 was
obtained at room temperature on OTS-treated SiO2/Si sub-
strates.
b) A. Maliakal, K. Raghavachari, H. Katz, E. Chandross, T. Siegrist,
[4] a) P. V. Schleyer, M. Manoharan, H. J. Jiao, F. Stahl, Org. Lett. 2001,
3, 3643–3646; b) R. Mondal, R. M. Adhikari, B. K. Shah, D. C.
[6] a) M. Bendikov, H. M. Duong, K. Starkey, K. N. Houk, E. A. Carter,
[7] D. J. Gundlach, J. A. Nichols, L. Zhou, T. N. Jackson, Appl. Phys.
Experimental Section
Synthesis of 3,6-bis-(thiophen-3-ylsulfanyl)-thieno
[3,2-b]thiophene (3): To
[8] T. W. Kelley, L. D. Boardman, T. D. Dunbar, D. V. Muyres, M. J. Pel-
[9] K. Xiao, Y. Liu, T. Qi, W. Zhang, F. Wang, J. Gao, W. Qiu, Y. Ma,
G. Cui, S. Chen, X. Zhan, G. Yu, J. Qin, W. Hu, D. Zhu, J. Am.
2377; c) T. Okamoto, K. Kudoh, A. Wakamiya, S. Yamaguchi,
[11] H. Lumbroso, J. M. Catel, G. Le Coustumer, C. G. Andrieu, J. Mol.
[13] a) Y. M. Sun, Y. Q. Ma, Y. Q. Liu, Y. Y. Lin, Z. Y. Wang, Y. Wang,
C.-a. Di, K. Xiao, X. M. Chen, W. F. Qiu, B. Zhang, G. Yu, W. P. Hu,
a solution of 3,6-dibromo-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (2.98 g, 10 mmol) in an-
AHCTUNGTRENNUNG
hydrous diethyl ether (100 mL) was added a 2.5m solution of nBuLi in
hexane (8 mL, 20 mmol) under a nitrogen atmosphere at À788C. After
stirring for 1 h at À788C, to the resulting white suspension was added a
solution of bis(3-thienyl) disulfide (4.60 g, 20 mmol) in anhydrous diethyl
ether (10 mL). The mixture was allowed to warm and was stirred at room
temperature for further 12 h after which time water (200 mL) was added.
The aqueous phase was extracted twice with ether (100 mL) and dried
over MgSO4. After removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, the
residual was separated by chromatography on silica gel, using hexane as
an eluent, to give the product (3.12 g, 85%) as a white solid. 1H NMR
(CDCl3, 400 MHz): d=7.01–7.02 ppm (d, 2H, J=4.0 Hz), 7.30–7.31 ppm
(d, 6H, J=4.0 Hz). 13C NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz): dC =123.9 (s), 126.5 (s),
126.6 (s), 127.9 (s), 128.6 (s), 130.3 (s), 140.5 ppm (s). MS: m/z=368 (M+,
100). Elemental analysis (%) calcd for C14H8S6: C 45.62, H 2.19; found:
C 45.66, H 2.26.
Chem. Asian J. 2010, 5, 1550 – 1554
ꢀ 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
1553