Novel Bis-Fused pi-Electron Donors for Organic Metals: 2-(1,3-Dithiol-2-ylidene)-5-(thiopyran-4-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene

Bis-fused pi-electron donors composed of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and 2-(thiopyran-4-ylidene)-1,3-dithiole (TPDT), 2-(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)-5-(thiopyran-4-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene (1a, TPDT-TTP), and its derivatives (1b-d, 2a-d) have been synthesized as donor components for organic conductors. An X-ray structure analysis of bis(methylthio)-1 (1c) revealed that the TPDT-TTP skeleton is almost planar except for the outer 1,3-dithiole ring, and that the crystal has a two-dimensional "theta-type" arrangement of molecules. The cyclic voltammograms of TPDT-TTPs exhibit four pairs of single-electron redox waves. The first oxidation potential (E(1)) of 1a (+0.37 V vs SCE, in PhCN) is comparable to that of TTF (+0.35 V) and is higher by 0.1 V than that of TPDT (+0.27 V). The observed substituent effect on E(1) values suggests that the first one-electron oxidation mainly occurs in the 2-(thiopyran-4-ylidene)-1,3-dithiole (TPDT) moiety. On the other hand, on-site coulombic repulsion estimated from the E(2) - E(1) value is lower than in TTF and TPDT. MNDO MO calculations reveal that all the sulfur atoms in the 1,3-dithiole rings have the same phase in the HOMO, a condition necessary for realization of effective transverse intermolecular interaction. The present donors have produced many charge-transfer complexes and cation radical salts showing relatively high conductivity (sigma(rt) = 10(-)(1)-10(1) S cm(-)(1)), several of which display metallic temperature dependence.