Synthesis, structure, and charge transport properties of a novel donor-acceptor complex of coronene and DTTCNQ

Highlights: • Co-crystallization of a polyaromatic hydrocarbon and TCNQ derivative resulted in the formation of mixed CT cocrystals. • A charge transfer cocrystal self-assembly for OFET application was realized. • Cocrystal formed by coronene and DTTCNQ exhibited an electron mobility of 0.07 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹. The rise of interest to organic charge-transfer (CT) systems in the last decade provides new opportunities for their practical applications in organic electronics. Herein, a charge-transfer complex of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and 4,8-bis(dicyanomethylene)-4,8-dihydrobenzo-[1,2-b:4,5-b′]-dithiophene (DTTCNQ) was reported, grown by liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method, with a 1:1 donor-acceptor stoichiometry and mixed stacking binary structure. The single-crystal field-effect transistors based on coronene-DTTCNQ microcrystals showed good electron mobility of 0.07cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, which was consistent with the quantum calculations. This good electronic characteristic suggests that this PAH based CT complex family of organic semiconductor can be promisingly used for high performance organic electronic devices.