Fully conjugated tri(perylene bisimides): an approach to the construction of n-type graphene nanoribbons

We present an experimental study encompassing synthesis and characterization of fully conjugated tri(perylene bisimides) (triPBIs), having 19 six-membered carbon rings in the core and six imide groups at the edges. Two structural isomers of triPBIs resulting from the two probable coupling positions were successfully separated by HPLC. To assist the identification of the two structural isomers, quantum-chemical calculations of electronic structure, NMR, and optical spectra were carried out. Calculations predict stable helical and nonhelical configurations for both triPBIs isomers and allow the assignment of triPBIs 6 unequivocally to the most bathochromically shifted absorption spectrum. Increasing the number of PBI units in oligo-PBIs leads to an expansion of the pi system, in turn associated with a reduction of the transport and optical band gaps, and a remarkable increase in electron affinities, which make oligo-PBIs promising n-type functional components in optoelectronic devices.