Crystal Growth, Structure, and Electronic Band Structure of α-4T Polymorphs

The oligomers of thiophene include some that are highly promising for application in thin film transistor devices. The properties of α-quaterthiophene (α-4T) have been investigated to see if it would also be suitable for such applications. The growth of crystals of α-4T is described and the crystal structure data obtained from single crystals of two polymorphs are presented. The differences and similarities of the structure and electronic band structure of the two polymorphs are pointed out, including the expected enhanced mobility of the high-temperature polymorph.