A Class of Electron-Transporting Vinylogous Tetrathiafulvalenes Constructed by the Dimerization of Core-Expanded Naphthalenediimides.

The combination of the (1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)malononitrile (DTYM) and/or (1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)acetonitrile (DTYA) moieties with naphthalenediimide (NDI) core affords two singly linked NDI-based dimers, (DTYM-NDI-DTYA)2 (D1) and (NDI-DTYA)2 (D2), which both contain a dicyano-substituted vinylogous tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) unit. The synthesis, thermal/optical/electrochemical properties of D1 and D2, and their primary applications in n-channel organic thin film transistors are studied. The results demonstrate that these NDI-fused vinylogous TTFs are excellent electron acceptors, and their further applications are promising.