Ladder-type Heteroarenes: Up to 15 Rings with Five Imide Groups

A series of novel imide-functionalized ladder-type heteroarenes with well-defined structure and controllable conjugation lengths were synthesized and characterized. The synthetic route shows remarkable efficacy for constructing the electron-deficient ladder backbones. p-Conjugation extension leads to narrowed band gaps with enhanced electron affinities. The ladder arenes are incorporated into organic thin-film transistors, and show encouraging electron mobilities of 0.013-0.045 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). The heteroarenes reported here provide a remarkable platform for fundamental physicochemical studies and materials innovation in organic electronics.