Di-acylation (Step A) A suspension of 2,3,5,6-tetrabromothieno[3,2,b]thiophene (9.1 g, 0.2 mol) in anhydrous THF (500 mL) was cooled to −78° C. Phenyl lithium solution in n-butyl ether (1.8 mol/L, 24 mL, 2.16 eq.) was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at −78° C. After 1 hr, an aliquot was removed and quenched, then tested by GC-MS. This test revealed that the di-anion was formed in 100% yield. Stearoyl chloride (13.6 g, 0.045 mol) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and added as quickly as possible while maintaining the reaction temperature as close to −78° C. as possible. The reaction was allowed to warm to RT over a few hours and then stirred overnight at RT. The reaction mixture was then quenched with water (2.5 to 3 eq.). The solvent was then removed under reduced pressure and the residual solid was washed with water (2×300 mL) and methanol (2×300 mL), filtered, then dried. The crude product was recrystallized from hot to cold hexane to give the desired product, 1-{3,6-dibromo-5-octadecanoylthieno[3,2-b]thiophen-2-yl}octadecan-1-one (7.3 g, 44% yield) as an off white solid. 1H NMR (CD2Cl2) δ 0.88 (6 H, t, J=6.6 Hz), 1.20-1.48 (56 H, m), 1.69-1.82 (4 H, m), and 3.07 (4 H, t, J=7.2 Hz).
