Corannulene derivatives with low LUMO levels and dense convex–concave packing for n-channel organic field-effect transistors

Electron-deficient corannulene derivatives incorporating cyano and imide groups into the corannulene core were synthesized, which showed low LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) levels and dense convex-concave packing structures in single crystals. These two features help to realize the first n-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) in air based on corannulene derivatives.