Unravelling the Superiority of Nonbenzenoid Acepleiadylene as a Building Block for Organic Semiconducting Materials

Acepleiadylene (APD), a nonbenzenoid isomer of pyrene, exhibits a unique charge-separated character with a large molecular dipole and a small optical gap. However, APD has never been explored in optoelectronic materials to take advantage of these unique properties. Here, we employ APD as a building block in organic semiconducting materials for the first time, and unravel the superiority of nonbenzenoid APD in electronic applications. We have synthesized an APD derivative (APD-IID) with APD as the terminal donor moieties and isoindigo (IID) as the acceptor core. Theoretical and experimental investigations reveal that APD-IID has an obvious charge-separated structure and enhanced intermolecular interactions as compared with its pyrene-based isomers. As a result, APD-IID displays significantly higher hole mobilities than that of the pyrene-based counterparts. These results imply the advantages of employing APD in semiconducting materials and great potential of nonbenzenoid polycyclic arenes for optoelectronic applications.