Anthracene-based semiconductors for organic field-effect transistors

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), reported for the first time in 1986, with favourable flexible potential and easy-fabrication properties, are complementary to traditional inorganic field-effect transistors. In fact, OFETs not only afford promising applications in flexible, lightweight circuits and displays, like radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) and portable screens, they are also useful tools for understanding the charge transport in molecular solids. Anthracene, as a building block for the active layer in OFETs, has the noteworthy advantages of strong intermolecular interaction, due to its planar structure, and high air stability owing to its appropriate energy levels. In this review, 150 anthracene derivatives with substituents at peri- and end-positions are discussed, from the aspects of physicochemical properties, thin film morphology, crystalline characteristics, and charge mobility in OFETs. Particularly, we shed light on the analysis of molecular packing structures, through the investigation of single crystals and molecular modelling, and underline the extraordinary application of anthracene derivatives in organic light-emitting transistors.