Relationships between the structure of de®ned a-conjugated oligothiophenes and their electronic properties were examined. Compared to the parent series of'end-capped' oligothiophenes, the synthesis and characterization of mixed oligoheterocycles, oligothiophene metal complexes, and crown ether-functionalized oligothiophenes will elucidate the manifold possibilities to in¯uence and extend their promising electronic properties, which are important with respect to technological applications in

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... tronic devices, such as oligothiophene-based organic light-emitting diodes or sensors. Fig. 1 Typical'real' structure of polythiophene including mislinkages and defects in comparison to a de®ned and all-a-linked oligothiophene. Conjugation pathways are drawn with bold lines.