“Organic Metals”—The Intermolecular Migration of Aromaticity

Abstract

Abstract The electrical conductivity of a wide variety of organic materials is reviewed and a comparison made between those materials which transport charge efficiently and those that do not. This comparison reveals that the most efficient conductors contain molecules (a) whose radical ions form a new aromatic sextet upon one‐electron oxidation or reduction and (b) whose aromaticity can migrate by mixed‐valence interaction. The electrical data are presented in light of the chemistry of these materials and the importance of chemical bonding interactions in the electron transport process. Several new examples are discussed and directions for further research explored.