Photoinduced asymmetric charge trapping in a symmetric tetraazapyrene-fused bis(tetrathiafulvalene) conjugate

In fused donor-acceptor (D-A) ensembles, rapid charge recombination often occurs because the D and A units are spatially close and strongly coupled. To the best of our knowledge, a long-lived charge separated (CS) state is still elusive in such systems. The results presented here show that symmetric annulation of two tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) donors to a central tetraazapyrene (TAP) acceptor via two quinoxaline units leads to a CS state lifetime of a few ns. A detailed study of the electronic interactions between TTF and TAP units in the ground and excited states was performed and compared with the asymmetric counterpart by cyclic voltammetry, optical absorption and ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the photoinduced asymmetric charge trapping between two TTFs significantly stabilizes the CS state, which is also verified theoretically.

Bottom-up Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Porous Graphene Nanoribbons

Although methods for a periodic perforation and heteroatom doping of graphene sheets have been developed, patterning closely spaced holes on the nanoscale in graphene nanoribbons is still a challenging task. In this work, nitrogen-doped porous graphene nanoribbons (N-GNRs) were synthesized on Ag(111) using a silver-assisted Ullmann polymerization of brominated tetrabenzophenazine. Insights into the hierarchical reaction pathways from single molecules toward the formation of one-dimensional organometallic complexes and N-GNRs are gained by a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) with CO-tip, scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and density functional theory (DFT).

Dibenzoanthradiquinone Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Nitrogenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

A straightforward method for the synthesis of two dibenzo[a,h]anthracene-5,6,12,13-diquinone building blocks is reported. To showcase their usefulness, a series of dibenzo[a,h]anthracene nitrogenated derivatives have been synthesized that show different optoelectronic, redox, and charge transport properties, illustrating their potential as organic semiconductors.

Chemical control of photoinduced charge-transfer direction in a tetrathiafulvalene-fused dipyrrolylquinoxaline difluoroborate dyad

Chemical regulation of a distinct photoinduced charge flow over multiple pathways present in an electron donor–acceptor dyad is demonstrated.

Lighting up long-range charge-transfer states by a localized plasmonic field

The long-range charge-transfer states in a donor-acceptor system exhibit well separated electron-hole pairs, but are often difficult to achieve by optical means owing to a very small overlap between the wave functions of the donor and acceptor. We have found that the introduction of a spatially confined plasmon can enhance the transition probability to the long-range charge-transfer states as it can effectively break the intrinsic symmetry selection rule imposed on the system. Meanwhile, the intensity borrowed from local excitations could also be selectively promoted, allowing the manipulation of the excited quantum states. In addition, our calculations reveal that the donor and acceptor moieties can be unambiguously visualized in real space by tip-enhanced resonance Raman images. These findings can benefit light-harvesting and also be readily extended to diverse optical processes.

Coordination-directed self-assembly of a simple benzothiadiazole-fused tetrathiafulvalene to low-bandgap metallogels

Coordination-driven gelation of a benzothiadiazole-fused tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) is for the first time demonstrated for the construction of low-bandgap metallogels.

Current advances in fused tetrathiafulvalene donor–acceptor systems

Development and applications of tetrathiafulvalene-fused electron donor–acceptor systems will be covered within this tutorial review.

HOMO stabilisation in π-extended dibenzotetrathiafulvalene derivatives for their application in organic field-effect transistors

Three new organic semiconductors, in which either two methoxy units are directly linked to a dibenzotetrathiafulvalene (DB-TTF) central core and a 2,1,3-chalcogendiazole is fused on the one side, or four methoxy groups are linked to the DB-TTF, have been synthesised as active materials for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Their electrochemical behaviour, electronic absorption and fluorescence emission as well as photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer were studied. The electron-withdrawing 2,1,3-chalcogendiazole unit significantly affects the electronic properties of these semiconductors, lowering both the HOMO and LUMO energy levels and hence increasing the stability of the semiconducting material. The solution-processed single-crystal transistors exhibit high performance with a hole mobility up to 0.04 cm(2)  V(-1)  s(-1) as well as good ambient stability.

A quinoxaline-fused tetrathiafulvalene derivative and its semiconducting charge-transfer salt: synthesis, crystal structures and physical properties

A quinoxaline-fused tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative 1 has been synthesized to form a compact and planar π-conjugated donor–acceptor (D–π–A) ensemble, and its single crystal structure has been determined by X-ray diffraction.

A highly sensitive TTF-functionalised probe for the determination of physiological thiols and its application in tumor cells

A tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-fused piazselenole as a novel redox-active and fluorescent probe for highly sensitive determination of physiological thiols is presented.