Thiophene-based twisted bistricyclic aromatic ene with tricoordinate boron: a new n-type semiconductor.

The incorporation of tricoordinate boron into conjugated systems is of current interest in the field of organic electronics. In this study, a tricoordinate boron-embedded thiophene-based bistricyclic aromatic ene (BAE) was synthesized as a new boron-containing conjugated system. The combination of tricoordinate boron and fused thiophene rings imposed the twisted conformation in the BAE structure, resulting in the narrow energy absorption with the low-lying LUMO. Preliminary studies on the application of the highly electron-deficient boron-embedded BAE to organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) were also performed, revealing its moderately high electron mobility.