Fullerene-tethered oliqothiophenes as advanced molecular electronics materials

This article reviews the recent progress of fullerene-tethered oligothiophenes as advanced molecular electronics materials. By covalent linkage with fullerenes, oligothiophenes can be modified into intelligent functional materials. In addition to the characteristics of oligothiophenes as well as fullerenes, these linkage systems show intriguing physical properties such as photoinduced electron transfer, energy transfer, and ambipolar conductivity, caused by interactions between both components. These properties are of great use for the wide applications of the linkage compounds to devices. Their practical uses for photovoltaic cells and field effect transistors are demonstrated.