Pristine p-extended aromatic compounds are attractive as organic functional materials, including organic semiconductors, but are difficult to synthesize in pure form due to their low solubility in common organic solvents. We have developed a precursor approach as a method to synthesize pure low-soluble p-extended aromatic compounds. In this approach, soluble precursors are first prepared and purified, then are converted quantitatively to the target molecules via retro-Diels–Alder reactions or Strating–Zwanenburg photodecarbonylation reactions. This approach is also effective for the on-surface synthesis of the large acenes like heptacene and nonacene under ultra-high vacuum. Tetrabenzorpohyrins are one of the promising organic semiconductors. The charge carrier mobilities of tetrabenzorporphyrins as organic field effect transistors have been improved using the precursor approach in combination with substituent effects. In this talk, I would like to focus on our recent results on the synthesis and morphological control of p-extended aromatic compounds for organic electronic materials using the precursor approach.

Hiroko Yamada received her Ph.D. degree in 1992 from Kyoto University, under the guidance of Prof. Kazuhiro Maruyama and Prof. Atsuhiro Osuka, focusing on the synthesis and characterization of carotenoid-linked porphyrins. She was selected as a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 1992-1994. In 1993, she did her research under Prof. Michael R. Wasielewski in Argonne National Laboratory, USA. In 1994, she joined International Research Laboratory, Ciba–Geigy Ltd., then moved to Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc. She started her academic career in 1998 as a post-doctoral researcher under Prof. Yoshiteru Sakata and Prof. Hiroshi Imahori at the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (ISIR), Osaka University, then a post-doctoral researcher of CREST, JST under Prof. Shunichi Fukuzumi and Prof. Hiroshi Imahori at Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. Since 2003, she was an associate professor in the group of Prof. Noboru Ono in Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, and moved to an associate professor as a tenure track in Graduate School of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in 2011. She was promoted to a full professor at NAIST in 2012. She moved to Institute for Chemical Research (ICR), Kyoto University in 2023. In 2006–2010, she was a researcher of PRESTO, JST.

Awards: Incentive Award of Chugoku-Shikoku Branch, The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2009), The Maruyama Memorial Research Award (2010), Japan The Japanese Photochemistry Association Award (2012), Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2019).

Her current research interest is synthesis of small molecular organic electronic materials for solution process. She is interested in the morphology control of organic semiconductors in thin films using precursor approach. She is also interested in the on-surface synthesis of large acenes and graphene nanoribbons.