Construction of new heteroacenes based on benzo[b]thieno[2,3-d]thiophene / quinoline or 1,8-naphthyridine systems using the Friedländer reaction

Two new classes of heteroacenes, namely benzo[4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]quinolines and benzo[4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b][1,8]naphthyridines, have been formed using the Friedlander reaction to annulate the benzo[b]thieno[2,3-d]thiophene scaffold to quinoline or 1,8-naphthyridine fragments. In accordance with this synthetic strategy, benzo[b]thieno[2,3-d]thiophen-3(2H)-ones were treated with 2-aminobenzaldehydes or 2-aminonicotinaldehyde in the presence of pyrrolidine in glacial acetic acid at reflux to give the desired quinoline- or 1,8-naphthyridine-fused compounds, respectively. The optical and electrochemical properties of selected heteroacenes were determined.