New π-extended triphenylene-based organic semiconductors in field-effect transistors

•Two new disk-shaped semiconducting triphenylenes were synthesized.•These molecules showed relatively low bandgap energies of ∼2.5 eV.•Their single-crystal-based field-effect transistors displayed a maximum carrier mobility of ∼0.03 cm2 V−1 s−1.

We demonstrated the synthesis of two new solution-processed triphenylene-based semiconductors and characterized their physical, optical, and electrochemical properties. Both were intriguingly capable of producing smooth films and high-quality microcrystalline objects. The single-crystal-based field-effect transistors (FETs) using these semiconductors displayed a maximum carrier mobility of ∼0.03 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a high on/off current ratio of ∼103. Notably, the mobilities of the single-crystal-based FETs were measured to be two orders of magnitude greater than those of the thin-film transistors. To our knowledge, the carrier mobility obtained in this work is the highest ever reported for single-crystal FETs made of triphenylene analogues.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide