An Air-Stable Semiconducting Polymer Containing Dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]arsole

Area of Science:

• Organic electronics
• Materials science
• Heterocyclic chemistry

Background:

• Phosphole-containing polymers are well-studied, but arsole analogues remain unexplored.
• Arsole derivatives offer potential for novel electronic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize the first dithieno[3,2-b;2',3'-d]arsole derivative.
• To develop and evaluate arsole-containing conjugated polymers for electronic applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a novel dithienoarsole monomer.
• Palladium-catalyzed Stille polymerization to create a soluble copolymer.
• Field-effect transistor (FET) measurements for device characterization.

Main Results:

• The synthesized dithienoarsole derivative is stable under ambient oxidation in its +3 oxidation state.
• A soluble arsole-containing copolymer was successfully synthesized.
• The copolymer exhibits p-type semiconductor behavior with promising hole mobility.

Conclusions:

• Arsole-containing conjugated polymers are a viable new class of organic electronic materials.
• The demonstrated stability and semiconductor properties open avenues for future arsole-based material design.
• This work establishes a foundation for further exploration of arsole chemistry in conjugated systems.