Applications of the 1,3‐dithiole unit in a post‐TTF era

The versatile 1,3‐dithiole (DT) ring system probably holds the record among heterocyclic systems for the most widespread use in modern materials science. Interest in derivatives of DT and the 1,3‐dithiolium cation DT⊕ was boosted in the past by the discovery of metal‐like conductivity in the charge‐transfer complex TTF–TCNQ and superconductivity in cation radical salts of TMTSF and BEDT–TTF. The authors examine some of the new functionalized π‐donor systems based on the TTF framework and comment on possible applications as sensors, molecular shuttles, organic ferromagnets and electroactive Langmuir–Blodgett films.