Polysubstituted Hexa-cata-hexabenzocoronenes: Syntheses, Characterization, and Their Potential as Semiconducting...

A series of tetra- and octa-substituted hexa-cata-hexabenzocoronenes (cata-HBCs) were synthesized from tetraryl olefins via iodine- and iron chloride-catalyzed oxidative cyclodehydrogenation reactions. The substitutions on the periphery of the parent HBC serve to modify the photophysical properties, highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gaps, and thermal stabilities of the respective derivatives. The crystal structures were determined to display multiple twists in the framework, resulting in different packing motifs depending on the position, type, and number of functional groups on the hexabenzocoronene framework. Nearly perfect co-facial packing to marginally or extensively shifted co-facial stacks were obtained due to substitution. The single crystals of parent HBC were used to fabricate single-crystal field-effect transistors, from which the highest p-channel mobility of 0.51 cm² V^-1 s^-1 was measured. Thin-film transistors of selected HBCs were also prepared, and 0.61 cm² V^-1 s^-1 was obtained for MeHBC-2. These results attest the potential of these materials as semiconducting materials.