【Molecular Systems and Materials Chemistry】Enhancing the Photostability of Organic Semiconductors by “Bending” Molecules: Successful Development of Light-Resistant, High-Performance Next-Generation Materials

Doctoral student Masato Hisada, Assistant Professor Daiki Shimizu, Professor Kenji Matsuda, Assistant Professor Yusuke Tsutsui, and Professor Shu Seki in the Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kyoto University in collaboration with Dr. Kirill Bulgarevich and Prof. Kazuo Takimiya at RIKEN, and Associate Professor Kiyoshi Miyata at Kyushu University successfully developed a new organic semiconductor material (fused rubrene: FR) by modifying the structure of rubrene, an organic molecule known for its excellent semiconductor properties, through the incorporation of a seven-membered ring into its molecular framework.
Conventional rubrene exhibits one of the highest levels of performance among organic semiconductors composed solely of carbon and hydrogen. However, it has a significant practical limitation in that it is highly susceptible to degradation by light and oxygen. In this study, the researchers connected the molecular framework to form a fused structure and introduced a molecular curvature by the formation of seven-membered ring. This design enabled a dramatic improvement in photostability while maintaining the excellent performance of rubrene. Furthermore, the study revealed how the bending of molecules affects the optical and electrical properties, providing new design guidelines for materials aimed at next-generation devices.

This research was published on February 18, 2026, in Volume 148, Issue 6 of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the flagship journal of the American Chemical Society.

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Physical Organic Chemistry

Condensed Matter Physical Chemistry