Organophosphorus π-conjugated materials:: the rise of a new field

The synthesis and electronic properties of new linear organic pi-conjugated systems incorporating phosphole rings are described. Well defined alpha,alpha'-(phosphole-thiophene) oligomers possess low HOMO-LUMO gaps and their optical and electrochemical properties can be tuned via chemical modifications of the P-atoms. The physical properties of these compounds make them valuable materials for OLED's. The coordination ability of phosphole-based dipoles has been exploited for the synthesis of efficient multipolar NLO-phores. Lastly, phospholes have been used for the synthesis of assemblies exhibiting through-bond interaction between two pi-systems via P-P sigma-skeletons. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.