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• 65016-62-8 3-octylthiophene 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Influence of backbone fluorination in regioregular poly(3-alkyl-4-fluoro)thiophenes

We report two strategies toward the synthesis of 3-alkyl-4-fluorothiophenes containing straight (hexyl and octyl) and branched (2-ethylhexyl) alkyl groups. We demonstrate that treatment of the dibrominated monomer with 1 equiv of alkyl Grignard reagent leads to the formation of a single regioisomer as a result of the pronounced directing effect of the fluorine group. Polymerization of the resulting species affords highly regioregular poly(3-alkyl-4-fluoro)thiophenes. Comparison of their properties to those of the analogous non-fluorinated polymers shows that backbone fluorination leads to an increase in the polymer ionization potential without a significant change in optical band gap. Fluorination also results in an enhanced tendency to aggregate in solution, which is ascribed to a more co-planar backbone on the basis of Raman and DFT calculations. Average charge carrier mobilities in field-effect transistors are found to increase by up to a factor of 5 for the fluorinated polymers.

Fine tuning of the electronic properties of linear π-conjugated oligomers by covalent bridging

A series of oligothienylenevinylenes, π-conjugated oligomers rigidified by ethylene bridges attached at different sites of the conjugated backbone, have been constructed by multistep synthetic methodologies. Electronic absorption spectra show that the rigidification of the conjugated system produces a bathochromic shift of the absorption maximum and a narrowing of the HOMO-LUMO energy gap, as compared to the spectra of an open-chain reference compound. The cyclic voltammograms of all oligomers show that these compounds can be reversibly oxidized into their cation radicals and dications and that rigidification produces a large negative shift of the first oxidation potential, which is indicative of a considerable increase of the HOMO level. Electrochemical data confirm that covalent bridging strongly affects the HOMO and LUMO levels and these data demonstrate that the sites of fixation of the bridges on the π-conjugated backbone exert a determining effect on the relative stability of the cation radical and dication. Examination of these various results in the light of theoretical calculations shows that in addition to a local control of bond length alternation, and hence of the HOMO-LUMO gap, the fixation of covalent bridges at selected positions of the π-conjugated system limits the deformation of the π-conjugated structure upon oxidation to the charged states.