Three anthracene derivatives, referred to as 2-phenyl anthracene (Ph-Ant), 2-thiazole anthracene (TZ-Ant), and 2-pentafluorophenyl anthracene (F5Ph-Ant), were designed and synthesized to reveal the effects of the electron-withdrawing substituents on the molecular packing structure and photoelectric properties of the anthracene core. As the electron-withdrawing abilities of the substituents increased, the molecular structures of the three semiconductors showed a progressive deterioration in intermolecular interactions and molecular accumulation, and the photoelectric properties became worse. Interestingly, the energy levels of the three semiconductors showed gradually decreasing changes with an enhancement of the electron-withdrawing abilities of the substituents, indicating a possible strategy for fabricating n-type anthracene derivative semiconductor materials.
