2015 is the International Year of Light, proclaimed by the United Nations to recognize the achievements of light science and its applications, and its contributions to humankind. It will raise special attention for major topics and key technologies in the field of optics and photonics. Advanced Optical Materials will contribute to this goal through publishing a special series of outstanding review articles.
Diketopyrrolopyrroles, an important class of pigments, are one of the work-horses in organic photonics and electronics. Since their discovery 40 years ago these dyes have been used in numorous application fields like field-effect transistors, bulk-heterojunction solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, and fluorescence imaging. Daniel Gryko and Marek Grzybowski (Institute of Organic Chemistry PAS, Warsaw) describe in their comprehensive review the progress made in the last four decades in both synthesis and reactivity of these dyes, and offers a critical comparison of various methods reported in the literature. A critical overview of the optical properties of a variety of diketopyrrolopyrroles and their π-expanded analogues is also provided. The authors have systematized the knowledge on these dyes which will enable their use in more real-world applications.
The full series can be found at www.advopticalmat.de/IYL. All articles will be published in Advanced Optical Materials and added to this virtual issue over the year.
