Hybrid Tetrameric Perylene Diimide Assemblies

Development of Tetrameric N-Annulated Perylene Diimides Using "Click" Chemistry

Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of two novel N-annulated perylene diimide (NPDI) tetramer arrays that were developed using copper catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition. Despite the optoelectronic properties of both tetramers being nearly identical, the two tetramers exhibited very different molecular geometries. The twisted spirobifluorene NPDI tetramer (sbfNPDI₄ ) was found to have an extended and flexible geometry, while the planar pyrene NPDI tetramer (pyrNPDI₄ ) exhibited a highly congested and conformationally locked geometry. Organic photovoltaic devices were constructed to demonstrate the use of both new compounds as electron acceptor materials, where slightly higher power conversion efficiencies were achieved with pyrNPDI₄ than sbfNPDI₄ . This study highlights the viability of using "click" chemistry as a facile synthetic strategy towards the development of new multicomponent perylene diimide materials for organic electronic applications.

Recent Advances in Heterocyclic Nanographenes and Other Polycyclic Heteroaromatic Compounds

This review surveys recent progress in the chemistry of polycyclic heteroaromatic molecules with a focus on structural diversity and synthetic methodology. The article covers literature published during the period of 2016-2020, providing an update to our first review of this topic (Chem. Rev. 2017, 117 (4), 3479-3716).