The boron-nitrogen-boron (BNB) zigzag edged benzo[fg]tetracene is accessible from 4-butyl-2,6-diphenylaniline in four steps in good yields. The two mesityl groups stabilize the boron centers toward nucleophilic attack and result in two enantiomeric forms in the solid state. The title compound has a large optical gap, shows blue fluorescence, and is quite resistant toward oxidation and reduction.

Two in a row: A pentacene dimer in which both units are covalently linked through a [2.2]paracyclophane bridge, has been synthesized. The electronic properties of the molecule were elucidated by a combination of experimental and computational methods. Such molecules could lead to materials with improved charge-transport properties.

A dibenzoperylene motif featuring a doubly boron–nitrogen-doped bay region is accessible from an aniline derivative in six steps in good overall yield. Two n-butyl groups provide the BN-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with sufficient solubility in common organic solvents. The synthesis sequence allows installation of a second boron atom next to a weakly nucleophilic nitrogen by using a protected boron species. The title compound shows blue fluorescence, an extremely high fluorescence quantum yield, and an interesting doped bay region.

The stepwise synthesis of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with an internalized boroxazine ring provides an unusual heterocycle with emitter properties.

Organic bilayer systems and heterostructures are of enormous importance for optoelectronic devices. We study interface properties and the structural ordering of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) on a highly ordered monolayer hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC), grown on Au(111), using photoemission, X-ray absorption, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low-energy electron diffraction. A charge transfer between CoPc and the gold substrate is almost completely prevented by the HBC intermediate layer. We show that HBC acts as a template for the initial growth of CoPc molecules. After annealing to 630 K, a molecular exchange takes place, resulting in a coexistence of domains of both CoPc and HBC molecules on the surface.