Small molecular aryl-acetylenes: chemically tailoring high efficiency organic semiconductors for solar cells and field-effect transistors

Over the last two decades, ever increasing interest has been focused on p-conjugated triple-bond-containing systems, namely, (poly)aryl acetylenes, as a very promising class of semiconducting materials, owing to the availability of flexible/efficient synthetic protocols and the new conception of their conformational and steric advantages. In this review, the major design/synthetic strategies used to obtain molecular aryl acetylene semiconductors are discussed. A brief discussion of their key properties as well as their performance in organic field effect transistors and photovoltaic cell applications is also included.