[1] Of academic interest, pentacene has been widely used as an active layer in organic thin-film field-effect transistors (OFET).
On the other hand, [n]phenacenes, an isomeric form of [n]acenes, has been known as a stable compound in which the benzene rings are fused in a zigzag structure.
For the past several years, there is renewed interest in synthesis of [n]phenacene derivatives associated with electronic applications in emissive and semi- or superconducting materials.
[2][3][4] Picene ([5]phenacene) can serve as an active layer of a high-performance p-channel organic thin-film FET with very high field-effect mobility μ = 5 cm2/(V⋅s).
Furthermore, picene doped with potassium and rubidium exhibit superconductivity with a maximum critical temperature TC ≈ 18 K.[4] Thus, [n]phenacenes and their derivatives may play an important role in future fabrication of stable and high-performance electronic devices such as OFET, OLED and organic solar cells.