One-Pot Synthesis of Tetraphene and Construction of Expanded Conjugated Aromatics

Acene derivatives as a class of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have attracted considerable interest because of their outstanding semiconductor properties. We developed a one-pot synthesis for fully conjugated tetraphene via a sequence of propargyl-allenyl isomerization, phosphine addition, intramolecular Wittig reactions, and Diels–Alder cyclization reactions. The derivative-conjugated aromatic compounds including carbazole or triphenylamine have been constructed via Pd-catalyzed coupling reaction with dibromotetraphene. These compounds show superior photophysical and electrochemical properties, which make them possible candidates for optoelectronic conjugated materials.