Tetra-Aza-Pentacenes by means of a One-Pot Friedländer Synthesis

Tetra-aza-pentacenes are attractive n-type small molecules for optoelectronic device applications, yet their syntheses are often laborious. Disclosed here is a one-pot Friedländer synthesis of 1,7,8,14-tetraazapentacece (tAP) derivatives (linear and/or bent), fully aromatized in situ despite the absence of an exogenous oxidant. The photophysics of linear tAPs resembles that of regular pentacene though their crystal structures differ. A LUMO energy of -3.71 eV for di-tert-butylanisole-substituted linear tAP is similar to that of the well-known acceptor, C₆₀ .