Development of Efficient Synthetic Methodologies for Small-Molecule Organic Semiconducting Materials( I )

〝Small-molecule organic semiconductors〞 have been regarded as an indispensable part in modern organicelectronics due to numerous advantages such as well-defined conjugation lengths, diverse synthetic pathways,easier functional-group transformations, and a broad range of applications. However, accessing thesefunctional small molecules mostly relies on traditonal cross-coupling reactions that invole tedious synthetictansformations along with unnecessary chemical wastes.Therefore, in this 3-year proposal, we will firstly conduct a synthetic study of the organo-electronicallyversatile building blocks:〝end-capping groups〞. Although these molecules are prominent moieties insmall-molecule optoelectronics, no reports on their step-saving/green synthetic methodology have appearedto date. Secondly, based on our experiences in〝C-H/C-X〞arylation reactions, we will move forward to themore challenging〝C-H/C-H〞cross-dehydrogenative couplings (CDC) using above home-made end-cappingmolecules as target-oriented substrates for reaction condition optimizations. This will lead to the formation ofa variety of target molecules with different functions for end-applications in semiconducting materialsincluding〝OPVCs, DSSCs, and OFETs〞. Fabrication and characterization of relevant devices based on thesefunctional small molecules will be conducted our selves or through on-campus collaborations.In a word, we propose to develop 〝functional-materials-oriented new synthetic methodologies〞, which aimsto effectively connect the research fields of〝synthetic organic chemistry〞with〝advanced organic materials〞.