Novel [6]phenacenes (fulminenes) with two long alkyl chains at the axis positions were synthesized. This short synthesis comprises the following three steps: (1) ruthenium-catalyzed direct C-H bond arylation; (2) conversion of directing groups by Wittig reaction; and (3) bismuth- or gold-catalyzed cyclization of vinyl ether. Organic field-effect transistor devices fabricated with a thin film of 3,11-di(tetradecyl)fulminene exhibited typical p-channel normally-off properties.

2,2′,7,7′-Tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) is utilized as a p-type semiconductor layer in perovskite solar cells and solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. Spiro-OMeTAD has been known to have a spiro center, leading to a random orientation. Although the molecular orientation of organic semiconductor materials influences the conductivity, which is directly related to semiconductor device characteristics, the molecular orientation of spiro-OMeTAD has not been fully discussed. In this study, we prepared spiro-OMeTAD layers on various substrates and investigated their orientation by grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). Additionally, we demonstrated that the molecular orientation of spiro-OMeTAD could be controlled by changing their surface energies by changing the substrate materials. Consequently, we could improve the electrical conductivity by improving its molecular orientation. The results of this study provide a guideline for the preparation of organic semiconductor material layers using the wet-coating method.

We synthesized two kinds of monocarbamothioates TZO­(R) containing a thiazolidin-2-one (TZO) skeleton and TZD­(R) containing a thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD) skeleton. In the reaction of TZO­(R) and phenoxypropyrenesulfide (PPS) using tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) as a catalyst in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone at 60 °C, anionic ring-opening polymerization of PPS proceeded to give the corresponding linear polysulfides, polyPPS, with M n = 75 860–206 700 (M w/M n = 1.54–1.73) in high yield. In contrast, in the reaction of TZD­(R) and PPS, the continuous insertion reaction of PPS into TZD­(R), i.e., living ring-expansion polymerization, occurred to afford cyclic polysulfides TZD­(R)-c-poly­(PPS) n with M n = 1870–33 420 (M w/M n = 1.07–1.26) in high yield. The ring size could be controlled by the feed ratio of TZD­(R)/PPS in the range of 1/5–1/100.

NORIA is a synthetic macrocycle consisting of twelve resorcinol rings. By cocrystallization of NORIA with benzene, NORIA organized one-dimensional array.

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements using coplanar waveguides (CPWs) make it possible to perform highly sensitive magnetization measurements, since a CPW can concentrate electromagnetic waves onto a narrow signal line. In this study, we aimed to perform FMR measurements of a minute individual magnet, and investigated the dependence of the sensitivity on the signal line width. We fabricated CPWs on MgO wafers and placed an individual NiFe dot on each of CPWs. NiFe dots with a thickness of 30 nm and various lateral sizes, i.e. 50 × 100, 50 × 80, 50 × 30, 50 × 20, and 50 × 10 m, were fabricated. The signal line widths of these samples were 150, 100, 50, 30, and 15 m, respectively. The external magnetic field dependence of the resonance frequency was well fitted by Kittel's formula. As expected, we obtained larger signals from smaller samples, because narrower signal lines that create larger rf fields were employed for smaller samples.