Two
series of new N,S,Se-heteroacenes, namely, 6H-benzo[4′,5′]selenopheno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indoles and 12H-benzo[4″,5″]selenopheno[2″,3″:4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indoles, were successfully obtained using an effective
strategy based on Fiesselmann thiophene and Fischer indole synthesis.
The new molecules exhibit a large optical band gap (2.82 eV < E
g
opt < 3.23 eV) and their highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)
energy formed by the plane π-core ranges between −5.2
and −5.6 eV, with the narrower optical band gap and lower HOMO
level corresponding to selenated heteroacenes. In thin solid films
of the heteroacenes, hole mobility measured using the conventional
CELIV technique ranges between 10–5 and 10–4 cm2·V–1·s–1. All these make the proposed condensed-ring compounds a promising
platform for the development of hole-transporting materials applicable
in organic electronics.