Abstract
Although tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and its derivatives have been extensively studied as important organic electronic materials over the past half century, tetrathiafulvalene vinyl-ogues (TTFVs) still remain a relatively underdeveloped branch in the family of TTF derivatives. Our recent work has investigated the synthesis and characterization of a class of diphenyl-substituted TTFVs carrying alkynyl functionality. The unique conformational and redox properties of such TTFV derivatives along with the versatile chemistry enabled by acetylenic groups (e.g., metal-catalyzed coupling and click reactions) have led us to a variety of functional molecular architectures ranging from oligoynes, polymers, and molecular tweezers, to macrocycles. Property studies of these new TTFV-based molecular materials point to appealing applications in molecular electronics and optoelectronics.