Professor, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
Researcher, Solution Oriented Research for Science and Technology (SORST), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Creation of new functional π-electron organic materials based on main group chemistry
The creation of new organic π-electron materials is the central topic in research fields including organic
(opto)electronics, which involves devices such as organic electroluminescent (EL) devices and thin film transistors, and molecular-scale electronics. We have based our synthetic research on main group chemistry. Molecular design exploiting the characteristic properties of main group elements provides access to new π-electron materials with intriguing photophysical and electronic properties.
In particular, our strategy relies on the incorporation of main group elements into π-conjugated ring systems, in which the orbital interaction between the main group element and π-conjugated moiety effectively occurs. Using this approach, we have, so far, synthesized various π-electron materials with unique electronic structures. One example is a silicon-containing π-electron system, 2,5-bis(bipyridyl)silole. This molecule is an extremely efficient electron-transporting material, due to the σ*-π* conjugation in the silole ring, and has already been put into the commercial use in organic EL displays. We are currently extending this silicon chemistry to other elements and have synthesized several other types of rigid planar π-electron systems, including dibenzoborole-based π-electron compounds, silicon-bridged oligo(phenylenevinylene)s, and sulfur- or selenium-containing heteroacenes, by using newly developed efficient synthetic methodologies.
The “main group chemistry approach” will lead to new and fascinating π-electron materials that cannot be achieved by the ordinary organic chemistry. We hope to develop platform molecules for the next-generation electronic and optoelectronic applications.
