Electro‐Optic (E‐O) Molecular Glasses

This Focus Review describes molecular glasses as a new class of materials for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications, especially for electro‐optic (E‐O) devices. Examples of E‐O molecular glasses are reviewed with a focus on the molecular design of NLO chromophores and solid‐state engineering of molecular glasses. Molecular glasses based on dendrimers of multiple chromophores, molecular glass blends of chromophores, and molecular glasses based on reversible self‐assembly of chromophores are introduced as promising architectures to prepare morphologically stable molecular glasses with large E‐O activities and improved material properties for device applications. Future directions to fully exploit the potential of molecular glasses for NLO materials are presented.     

Atomic‐Level Mechanisms of Nucleation of Pure Liquid Metals during Rapid Cooling

To obtain a material with the desired performance, the atomic‐level mechanisms of nucleation from the liquid to solid phase must be understood. Although this transition has been investigated experimentally and theoretically, its atomic‐level mechanisms remain debatable. In this work, the nucleation mechanisms of pure Fe under rapid cooling conditions are investigated. The local atomic packing stability and liquid‐to‐solid transition‐energy pathways of Fe are studied using molecular dynamics simulations and first‐principle calculations. The results are expressed as functions of cluster size in units of amorphous clusters (ACs) and body‐centered cubic crystalline clusters (BCC‐CCs). We found the prototypes of ACs in supercooled liquids and successfully divided these ACs to three categories according to their transition‐energy pathways. The information obtained in this study could contribute to our current understanding of the crystallization of metallic melts during rapid cooling.     

Molecular Engineering for Metal-Free Amorphous Materials with Room-Temperature Phosphorescence

Materials displaying room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have been attracting wide attention in recent years due to their distinctive characteristics including long emissive lifetime and large Stokes shift, and their various applications. Most synthesized RTP materials are metal complexes that display enhanced intersystem crossing and crystallization is a common way to restrict nonradiative transition. Amorphous metal-free RTP materials, which do not rely on expensive and toxic metals and can be prepared in a straightforward fashion, have become an important branch of the field. This Minireview summarizes recent progress in amorphous RTP materials according to the approaches used to immobilize phosphors: host–guest interactions, molecule doping, copolymers, and small-molecule self-assembly. Some existing challenges and insightful perspectives are given at the end of the Minireview, which should benefit the future design and development of amorphous metal-free RTP materials.     

Organic Fluorophores Exhibiting Highly Efficient Photoluminescence in the Solid State

There has been extensive research on the development of organic optoelectronic devices, such as organic light‐emitting diodes, organic field‐effect transistors, and organic solid‐state lasers from various viewpoints, ranging from basic studies to practical applications. As organic materials are used as solids in these devices, the importance of organic chromophores that exhibit intense emissions of visible light in the solid state is greatly increasing in the field of organic electronics. However, highly efficient emission from organic solids is very difficult to attain because most organic emitting materials strongly tend to cause concentration quenching of the luminescence in the condensed phase. Therefore, in order to generate and improve organic optoelectronic devices, it is necessary to design novel chromophores that exhibit superior solid‐state emission performance. This Focus Review covers the recent development of highly emissive organic small molecules whose photoluminescence quantum yields in the solid state have been reported. Following the introduction, the photophysical processes of excited molecules are briefly reviewed. Subsequently, organic solid fluorophores are described with an emphasis on the characteristics of their molecular structures.     

Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Dimethoxybis(3,3,3‐trifluoropropen‐1‐yl)benzenes: Compact Chromophores Exhibiting Violet Fluorescence in the Solid State

Dimethoxybis(3,3,3‐trifluo‐ropropen‐1‐yl)benzenes were prepared through palladium‐catalyzed double cross‐coupling reactions of diiododimethoxybenzenes with CF₃C≡CZnCl, followed by reduction of CF₃C≡C groups with LiAlH₄ or H₂ in the presence of the Lindlar catalyst. The edges of the absorption spectra of 1,2‐(MeO)₂‐4,5‐(CF₃CHC=CH)₂benzenes 1 and 1,3‐(MeO)₂‐4,6‐(CF₃CH=CH)₂benzenes 2 in cyclohexane ranged from 348 to 360 nm, whereas the absorption spectra of 1,4‐(MeO)₂‐2,5‐[(E)‐CF₃CH=CH]₂ benzene ((E)‐ 3 ) ended at 406 nm. These findings indicate that the effective conjugation length of (E)‐ 3 was significantly larger than those of 1 and 2 . Consistently, 1 and 2 in cyclohexane exhibited fluorescence with emission maxima in the UV region, whereas (E)‐ 3 in cyclohexane emitted violet light with an emission maximum at 407 nm. All the fluorescence spectra of 1 – 3 in various solvents redshifted as the solvent polarity increased. The photoluminescence of 1 , E‐1 , Z‐1 , 2 , E‐2 , E‐2H , Z‐2 , E‐3 , E‐3H , Z‐3 in the solid states was also observed with emission maxima in the violet region. It is important to note that the quantum yields of (E)‐ 3 in a neat thin film and in a doped polymer film were 0.37 and 0.49, respectively. Density functional theory calculations suggested that the fluorine atoms contribute to a slight extension of both the HOMOs and the LUMOs, as well as narrowing of the HOMO–LUMO gaps when compared with the corresponding fluorine‐free analogues. In the case of (E)‐ 3 , it is suggested that the HOMO–LUMO transition includes charge transfer from the ethereal oxygen atoms to the C(sp²) CF₃ moieties.     

In Situ Microscopic Observation of the Crystallization Process of Molecular Microparticles by Fluorescence Switching

To clearly understand the solid‐state amorphous‐to‐crystalline transformation is a long‐standing challenge because such crystallization occuring in confined environments is difficult to observe directly. We developed an in situ and real‐time imaging procedure to record the interface evolution in a solid‐state crystallization of molecular amorphous particles. The method, by employing a tetra‐substituted ethene with novel morphology‐dependent fluorescence, which can distinguish the interfaces between the crystalline and amorphous phase by fluorescence color, is a simple and practical method to probe the inner process of a molecular microparticle. The crystallization of amorphous microparticles in different cases was clearly recorded, where the perfect microparticles and those with defects demonstrate diverse destinies. The details disclosed in this observation will deepen the understanding for a series of solid‐state crystallization that we know little about before.     

Extensively Reversible Thermal Transformations of a Bistable,Fluorescence‐Switchable Molecular Solid: Entry into Functional Molecular Phase‐Change Materials

Functional phase‐change materials (PCMs) are conspicuously absent among molecular materials in which the various attributes of inorganic solids have been realized. While organic PCMs are primarily limited to thermal storage systems, the amorphous–crystalline transformation of materials like Ge‐Sb‐Te find use in advanced applications such as information storage. Reversible amorphous–crystalline transformations in molecular solids require a subtle balance between robust supramolecular assembly and flexible structural elements. We report novel diaminodicyanoquinodimethanes that achieve this transformation by interlinked helical assemblies coupled with conformationally flexible alkoxyalkyl chains. They exhibit highly reversible thermal transformations between bistable (crystalline/amorphous) forms, along with a prominent switching of the fluorescence emission energy and intensity.     

Validation of Structural Grounds for Anomalous Molecular Mobility in Ionic Liquid Glasses

Ionic liquid (IL) glasses have recently drawn much interest as unusual media with unique physicochemical properties. In particular, anomalous suppression of molecular mobility in imidazolium IL glasses vs. increasing temperature was evidenced by pulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Although such behavior has been proven to originate from dynamics of alkyl chains of IL cations, the role of electron spin relaxation induced by surrounding protons still remains unclear. In this work we synthesized two deuterated imidazolium-based ILs to reduce electron–nuclear couplings between radical probe and alkyl chains of IL, and investigated molecular mobility in these glasses. The obtained trends were found closely similar for deuterated and protonated analogs, thus excluding the relaxation-induced artifacts and reliably demonstrating structural grounds of the observed anomalies in heterogeneous IL glasses.     

分子点群虚拟仿真实验的建设与实践*

结合结构化学课程中分子对称性知识点的教学,自主设计和开发了分子点群虚拟仿真实验(PGVL)平台,帮助学生深入认识理解分子对称性知识的重点和难点。该仿真实验采用Web技术构建,支持分子模型的显示和互动,使学生可以完成分子的各种对称操作、指出分子结构中的对称元素、推导分子点群及认识分子结构和性质之间的关系。PGVL在分子对称性教学中的应用,不仅完善了结构化学分子模型实践教学体系,而且提升了学生对结构化学课程的学习兴趣,丰富了结构化学实践教学内容,取得了良好的教学效果。     

Rational Molecular Design towards Vis/NIR Absorption and Fluorescence by using Pyrrolopyrrole aza‐BODIPY and its Highly Conjugated Structures for Organic Photovoltaics

Pyrrolopyrrole aza‐BODIPY (PPAB) developed in our recent study from diketopyrrolopyrrole by titanium tetrachloride‐mediated Schiff‐base formation reaction with heteroaromatic amines is a highly potential chromophore due to its intense absorption and fluorescence in the visible region and high fluorescence quantum yield, which is greater than 0.8. To control the absorption and fluorescence of PPAB, particularly in the near‐infrared (NIR) region, further molecular design was performed using DFT calculations. This results in the postulation that the HOMO–LUMO gap of PPAB is perturbed by the heteroaromatic moieties and the aryl‐substituents. Based on this molecular design, a series of new PPAB molecules was synthesized, in which the largest redshifts of the absorption and fluorescence maxima up to 803 and 850 nm, respectively, were achieved for a PPAB consisting of benzothiazole rings and terthienyl substituents. In contrast to the sharp absorption of PPAB, a PPAB dimer, which was prepared by a cross‐coupling reaction of PPAB monomers, exhibited panchromatic absorption across the UV/Vis/NIR regions. With this series of PPAB chromophores in hand, a potential application of PPAB as an optoelectronic material was investigated. After identifying a suitable PPAB molecule for application in organic photovoltaic cells based on evaluation using time‐resolved microwave conductivity measurements, a maximized power conversion efficiency of 1.27 % was achieved.     

Precise Control Over Kinetics of Molecular Assembly: Production of Particles with Tunable Sizes and Crystalline Forms

It has been long‐pursued but remains a challenge to precisely manipulate the molecular assembly process to obtain desired functional structures. Reported here is the control over the assembly of solute molecules, by a programmed recrystallization of solvent crystal grains, to form micro/nanoparticles with tunable sizes and crystalline forms. A quantitative correlation between the protocol of recrystallization temperature and the assembly kinetics results in precise control over the size of assembled particles, ranging from single‐atom catalysts, pure drug nanoparticles, to sub‐millimeter organic‐semiconductor single crystals. The extensive regulation of the assembly rates leads to the unique and powerful capability of tuning the stacking of molecules, involving the formation of single crystals of notoriously crystallization‐resistant molecules and amorphous structures of molecules with a very high propensity to crystallize, which endows it with wide‐ranging applications.     

二元合金Ag50Rh50从液态到非晶的分子动力学计算

本文对贵重金属银铑合金Ag50Rh50的液态结构和激冷过程进行了分子动力学模拟研究,原子间作用势采用紧束缚势,模拟在施加了周期性边界折常压状态下进行。采用了偶关联函数,键对分析技术和键取向序参, 分子动力学模拟计算方法揭示了Ag50Rh50的液态结构存在原子偏聚特征以及在快速凝固过程形成原子偏聚的不均匀非晶,并与同族过渡金属进行了非晶形成能力的比较。     

Enhancing the Viscosity-Sensitive Range of a BODIPY Molecular Rotor by Two Orders of Magnitude

Molecular rotors are a class of fluorophores that enable convenient imaging of viscosity inside microscopic samples such as lipid vesicles or live cells. Currently, rotor compounds containing a boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) group are among the most promising viscosity probes. In this work, it is reported that by adding heavy-electron-withdrawing −NO₂ groups, the viscosity-sensitive range of a BODIPY probe is drastically expanded from 5–1500 cP to 0.5–50 000 cP. The improved range makes it, to our knowledge, the first hydrophobic molecular rotor applicable not only at moderate viscosities but also for viscosity measurements in highly viscous samples. Furthermore, the photophysical mechanism of the BODIPY molecular rotors under study has been determined by performing quantum chemical calculations and transient absorption experiments. This mechanism demonstrates how BODIPY molecular rotors work in general, why the −NO₂ group causes such an improvement, and why BODIPY molecular rotors suffer from undesirable sensitivity to temperature. Overall, besides reporting a viscosity probe with remarkable properties, the results obtained expand the general understanding of molecular rotors and show a way to use the knowledge of their molecular action mechanism for augmenting their viscosity-sensing properties.