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Fluoroanthradithiophenes are well known organic semiconductors, where alkynyl substituents featuring silicon and germanium exhibit hole mobilities in excess of 5 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . A key feature to achieve these performance levels is the 2-dimensional brickwork packing of triethylsilyl and triethylgermyl side chains, which direct solid-state packing, increase molecular stability, and increase solution processability for cheap and large scale fabrication. We have recently reported side chains utilising carbon in place of the other group 14 atoms, resulting in less favourable 1-dimensional molecular packing. Here we present the synthesis of new derivatives which adopt 2-D brickwork packing without the use of silicon or germanium to determine substituent effects on charge carrier mobility. 

A carbon side-chain analogue to the high-performance organic semiconductor triethylsilylethynyl difluoroanthradithiophene has been synthesised and characterized. Atomic substitution of carbon for silicon results in subtle changes to opto-electronic properties, which are rationalised by density functional theory and balance of electron donating and withdrawing effects. Larger differences are observed in photostability and solid-state packing of the new material in comparison to known silicon and germanium derivatives. Comparison of the group 14 elements teaches us about the newly synthesised system, but also how the silylethynyl substituents used for the last two decades contribute to successful employment of functionalised polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as organic semiconductors. 

N -Ethyl-3,7-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenothiazine is a highly soluble redox shuttle for overcharge protection in lithium-ion batteries with an oxidation potential of ca. 3.8 V vs. Li +/0 in carbonate solvents. This compound has enabled extensive overcharge protection of LiFePO 4 /graphite cells and does so at high charging rates at high concentrations. Our initial synthesis of this compound suffered from low yields and difficult purifications. Here we report a cleaner, higher-yielding synthesis and additional characterization of the product and its stable radical cation salt. 

Dehydroannulenes are alkyne‐rich macrocycles possessing rigid, planar, π‐conjugated backbones. Octadehydro[12]annulenes in particular are formally antiaromatic, and have been shown to possess stable reduced states with exploitable LUMO energies. However, very few examples of this type of annulene have been structurally characterized, and there is little information on the stability of these antiaromatic molecules in solution or in the solid state. We have synthesized a range of substituted octadehydro[12]annulenes, and characterized their optical and redox properties. Contrary to prior reports, dehydro[12]annulenes with overlapping π‐surfaces are reasonably stable both in solution and thin films, suggesting potential use in practical applications.

 

The structure of zymonic acid (systematic name: 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-5-oxo-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-carboxylic acid), C 6 H 6 O 5 , which had previously eluded crystallographic determination, is presented here for the first time. It forms by intramolecular condensation of parapyruvic acid, which is the product of aldol condensation of pyruvic acid. A redetermination of the crystal structure of pyruvic acid (systematic name: 2-oxopropanoic acid), C 3 H 4 O 3 , at low temperature (90 K) and with increased precision, is also presented [for the previous structure, see: Harata et al. (1977). Acta Cryst. B 33 , 210–212]. In zymonic acid, the hydroxylactone ring is close to planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0108 Å) and the dihedral angle between the ring and the plane formed by the bonds of the methyl and carboxylic acid carbon atoms to the ring is 88.68 (7)°. The torsion angle of the carboxylic acid group relative to the ring is 12.04 (16)°. The pyruvic acid molecule is almost planar, having a dihedral angle between the carboxylic acid and methyl-ketone groups of 3.95 (6)°. Intermolecular interactions in both crystal structures are dominated by hydrogen bonding. The common R 2 2 (8) hydrogen-bonding motif links carboxylic acid groups on adjacent molecules in both structures. In zymonic acid, this results in dimers about a crystallographic twofold of space group C 2/ c , which forces the carboxylic acid group to be disordered exactly 50:50, which scrambles the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups and gives an apparent equalization of the C—O bond lengths [1.2568 (16) and 1.2602 (16) Å]. The other hydrogen bonds in zymonic acid (O—H...O and weak C—H...O), link molecules across a 2 1 -screw axis, and generate an R 2 2 (9) motif. These hydrogen-bonding interactions propagate to form extended pleated sheets in the ab plane. Stacking of these zigzag sheets along c involves only van der Waals contacts. In pyruvic acid, inversion-related molecules are linked into R 2 2 (8) dimers, with van der Waals interactions between dimers as the only other intermolecular contacts. 

Addition of the potassium dichalcogenidodiphenylphosphinate salts, KE₂PPh₂(E=S, Se), to either the THF solvate of vanadium(III) chloride or unsolvated chromium(III) chloride results in rapid ligand substitution and the formation of a series of closely‐related trivalent, neutral mononuclear complexes, M(E₂PPh₂)₃(M=V, Cr; E=S, Se), isolated in modest to good yield. The metal dichalcogenidophosphinate complexes reported herein were characterized by IR, UV‐vis, and¹H NMR spectroscopies, and their solid‐state molecular structures were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography. Importantly, the comparative analysis includes the structural and spectroscopic studies of two rare V(III) dithio‐ and diseleno‐phosphinate VE₆cores, as well as, two previously known CrE₆analogues. In the solid‐state the title complexes exhibit trigonal distortion from octahedral with torsion angles ranging from 43(2) to 50.3(6)° and structural parameters consistent with ligation of progressively ‘softer’ chalcogen‐donors.