Optoelectronic Devices Based on Mesomorphic, Highly Polarizable 1,3,5-Trisalkynyl Benzenes

The ability of discotic liquid crystals (LCs) to selfassemble into columnar stacks, enabling a one-dimensional transport of charge, makes them particularly suitable to be used as active layers in organic optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photovoltaic cells (PVCs), and field-effect transistors (FETs).1 In highly ordered discotic phases, high charge mobilities can be obtained2 that are capable of surpassing the electronic properties of conventional polymeric materials. Such high-performance, electrooptical liquid-crystalline materials typically consist of large, polycyclic (hetero)aromatics,3 whereas in contrast, lowmolecular- weight benzene-based systems have not yet been reported as photoconductive materials, to the best of our knowledge. However, C3-symmetric, π-expanded alkynylbenzenes are known to form columnar LCs and have been applied in electro-optical devices.4