An amic acid or amic ester precursor can be applied to a substrate to form a thin film, and is then thermally converted into a semiconducting layer of the corresponding arylene diimide. This semiconducting thin film can be used in various articles including thin-film transistor devices that can be incorporated into a variety of electronic devices. In this manner, the arylene diimide need not be coated onto the substrate but is generated in situ from a solvent-soluble, easily coated precursor compound.