Easily reducible materials from the reactions of diselenopheno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole and dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole with tetracyanoethylene.

A new core, 4H-diselenopheno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DSP), was reacted with tetracyanoethylene, and three products, mono-tricyanovinyl, bis-tricyanovinyl, and quinoidal, were isolated and compared with the respective 4H-dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) derivatives using cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis absorption, and differential scanning calorimetry analyses. Organic field-effect transistors were fabricated using solution-processed films, and only one derivative, bis-tricyanovinyl-DSP, exhibited transistor behavior with μ(e) reaching 8.7 × 10(-4) cm(2)/V·s. This enhancement of the electron-transporting properties in comparison with DTP derivative is attributed to stronger LUMO-LUMO interaction due to a larger size of selenium atom, which in the case of the bis-tricyanovinyl derivative, has wave function density on the chalcogen.