Oligofuran-Benzothiadiazole Co-oligomers: Synthesis, Optoelectronic Properties and Reactivity

Donor acceptor donor (DAD) triad systems are commonly applied as active materials in ambipolar organic field-effect transistors, organic solar cells, and NIR-emitting organic light-emitting diodes. Often, these triads utilize oligothiophenes as donors, whereas their oxygen-containing analogs, oligofurans, are far less studied in this setup. Here we introduce a family of DAD triads in which the donors are oligofurans and the acceptor is benzothiadiazole. In a combined computational and experimental study, we show that these triads display optical bandgaps similar to those of their thiophene analogs, and that a bifuran donor is sufficient to produce emission in the NIR spectral region. The presence of a central acceptor unit increases the photostability of oligofuran-based DAD systems compared with parent oligofurans of the similar length.