This book covers the most important developments in synthesis, properties, processing and applications of thiophene-based compounds in materials chemistry. In the last few years, thiophene-based materials have acquired increasing importance in nanoscience and nanotechnology, owing to their multiple functional properties, chemical robustness, and versatility. Research involving thiophene-based materials is highly interdisciplinary and spans from electronics — in which the semiconducting properties of these materials are exploited in thin film field-effect transistors, electroluminescent diodes and photovoltaic devices — to biodiagnostics, in which the light absorption and emission properties of the same compounds are exploited to monitor biological events involving proteins and DNA. Since all fields are concerned with the synthesis of new molecular structures, the book also deals with the most recent advances in synthetic methodologies.