Design of organic semiconductors: tuning the electronic properties of pi-conjugated oligothiophenes with the 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) building block.

Hybrid oligothiophenes based on a various combinations of thiophene and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) groups have been synthesized. UV/Vis absorption spectra show that the number and relative positions of the EDOT groups considerably affect the width of the HOMO-LUMO gap and the rigidity of the conjugated system. Analysis of the crystallographic structure of two hybrid quaterthiophenes confirms that insertion of two adjacent EDOT units in the middle of the molecule leads to a self-rigidification of the conjugated systems by intramolecular SO interactions.