Researchers from TU Dresden and CiQUS Obtain Decacene, the Largest Acene Synthesised Ever

[Press release from TU Dresden, 14 August 2017]

Acenes are molecules formed by the linear fusion of special carbon-based hexagons, widely known as ‘benzene rings’. In spite of its structural simplicity, these molecules have attracted huge attention due to their unique electronic properties; pentacene, for example, a member of this family with five linear rings, is considered as one of the most relevant organic semiconductor to build photoelectronic devices, while larger acenes present intriguing properties that have fascinated scientists for decades. However, long acenes are unstable molecules, which cannot be found in natural sources. The obvious alternative is to access these molecules by chemical synthesis, but this approach becomes more challenging as the length of the molecule increases. In fact, nonacene (nine rings linearly fused) was the largest acene detected to date in 2010.