A new perspective for organic solar cells: triplet nonfullerene acceptors

正In the last decade,the rapid development of bulk heterojunction(BHJ)organic solar cells(OSCs)has been witnessed and the power conversion efficiencies(PCEs)have reached over 13%[1].Though fullerene derivatives have played dominant roles for BHJ OSCs,nonfullerene acceptors recently showed a promising potential in replacing fullerene derivatives since they possess readily tunable bandgaps,strong and broad absorption,and low cost production[2,3].     

Altering alkyl-chains branching positions for boosting the performance of small-molecule acceptors for highly efficient nonfullerene organic solar cells

The emergence of the latest generation of small-molecule acceptor(SMA) materials,with Y6 as a typical example,accounts for the surge in device performance for organic solar cells(OSCs).This study proposes two new acceptors named Y6-C2 and Y6-C3,from judicious alteration of alkyl-chains branching positions away from the Y6 backbone.Compared to the Y6,the Y6-C2 exhibits similar optical and electrochemical properties,but better molecular packing and enhanced crystallinity.In contrast,the Y6-C3 shows a significant blue-shift absorption in the solid state relative to the Y6 and Y6-C2.The as-cast PM6:Y6-C2-based OSC yields a higher power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 15.89% than those based on the Y6(15.24%) and Y6-C3(13.76%),representing the highest known value for as-cast nonfullerene OSCs.Prominently,the Y6-C2 displays a good compatibility with the PC_(71)BM.Therefore,a ternary OSC device based on PM6:Y6-C2:PC_(71)BM(1.0:1.0:0.2) was produced,and it exhibits an outstanding PCE of 17.06% and an impressive fill factor(FF) of 0.772.Our results improve understanding of the structureproperty relationship for state-of-the-art SMAs and demonstrate that modulating the structure of SMAs via fine-tuning of alkylchains branching positions is an effective method to enhance their performance.     

Silicon-Directed Nazarov Cyclizations. Part V. Substituent and heteroatom effects on the reaction

The ability to incorporate alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, and heteroatomic groups into substrates for the silicon-directed Nazarov cyclization and their subsequent reactions has been investigated. In general, most of the groups are compatible with the conditions for the cyclization and do not interfere even when directly attached to the divinyl ketone. The influence of substituents on the rate of the cyclization has been addressed and is consistent with a simple mechanistic picture. O- and N-Containing functions are tolerated except when attached to the α-vinyl C-atom of the divinyl ketone. The diastereoface-directing effect of a fused cyclobutane is discussed.     

Parity and heteroatom effects on open-shell exchange interactions: nitrenophenyl iminoylnitroxides

Photolysis of pN3PhIN and mN3PhIN in frozen matrix yields pNPhIN and mNPhIN, respectively. pNPhIN gives a quartet state with nonlinear ESR intensity behavior (|D/hc| = 0.300 cm(-1), |E/hc| congruent with 0.0 cm(-1)); mNPhIN gives a thermally excited quartet state (|D/hc| = 0.336 cm(-1), |E/hc| = 0.006 cm(-1)) with inverse Curie behavior. Computations show little nitrene delocalization onto the radicals even for the para system. The NPhIN systems behave differently from analogous nitronylnitroxides due to asymmetric radical spin distribution. [reaction: see text]     

Substituent and heteroatom effects on the electrochromic properties of similar systems

Electrochromic polymers called poly(3,4‐dihydro‐3,3‐bis ((naphthalen‐1‐yl)methyl)‐2H‐thieno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxepine) (PProDOT‐Np₂), poly(3,3‐dibenzyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐selenopheno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxepine), and poly(3,3‐dibenzyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐thieno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxepine) were synthesized electrochemically and the effect of substituents and heteroatoms on the electrochromic properties were investigated for the similar systems. All polymers show electrochromism from a colored state when neutralized to transmissive when oxidized. Although, increasing bulky size (PProDOT‐Np₂) causes lower coloration efficiency (CE) as well as lower optical contrast, the replacement of S atom by Se atom resulted in a lower band gap polymer with a higher CE than its thiophene analog. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Heteroatoms and substituent effects: The importance of heteroatom hyperconjugation

We have found that the specific rate of α‐sulfonyl carbanion formation in a β‐substituted sulfone shows a sizable dependence on the H C_α C_β X torsion angle. Defining k_N = (k_exch)_X/(k_exch)_model (where the model has X = H or an alkyl group) we observed for a collection of β‐alkoxy sulfones (X = OR) acceptable agreement with the expression log k_N = a + b cos² θ (where a = 1.70 and b = 2.62). Extension to other β‐substituents (X = RS, R₂N, and R₃N⁺) yields the same pattern, with the last showing very large dependence of k_N on the torsion angle (b = 6.3). These observations are ascribed to the presence (in addition to the inductive and field effects) of negative hyperconjugation responsible for accelerations of 1000‐fold and more, deriving from donation of the incipient negative charge on carbon into the σ*_{C X} orbital in the transition state. These observations reflect, and at the same time underline, the importance of the low‐lying antibonding orbitals present in heteroatomic molecules. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 13:397–405, 2002; Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10067     

Efficient light-harvesting,energy migration,and charge transfer by nanographene-based nonfullerene small-molecule acceptors exhibiting unusually long excited-state lifetime in the film state

Electron-acceptor small-molecules possessing a long exciton lifetime and a narrow energy band gap, opposing the energy gap law, are highly desirable for high-performance organic photovoltaics (OPVs) by realizing their efficient light-harvesting ability (LH), exciton diffusion (ED), and charge transfer (CT). Toward this goal, we designed an acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) type nonfullerene acceptor (NFA), TACIC, having an electron-donating, self-assembling two-dimensional (2D) nanographene unit, thienoazacoronene, at the center with electron-withdrawing groups at both ends. The TACIC film exhibited a narrow band gap (1.59 eV) with excellent LH. Surprisingly, the TACIC film showed an extremely long exciton lifetime (1.59 ns), suppressing undesirable nonradiative decay by its unique self-assembling behavior. When combined with a conjugated polymer donor, PBDB-T, slow ED and CT were observed (60 ps) with the excitation of TACIC owing to the large TACIC domain sizes. Nevertheless, the unusually high efficiencies of ED and CT (96% in total) were achieved by the long TACIC exciton lifetime. Additionally, unusual energy transfer (EnT) from the excited PBDB-T to TACIC was seen, demonstrating its dual LH role. The OPV device with PBDB-T and TACIC showed a high incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) exceeding 70% at up to 710 nm and a power conversion efficiency of ∼10%. This result will open up avenues for a rational strategy of OPVs where LH, ED, and CT from the acceptor side as well as LH, EnT, ED, and CT from the donor side can be better designed by using 2D nanographene as a promising building block for high-performance A–D–A type NFAs.

A nonfullerene acceptor, TACIC, showed efficient light-harvesting, exciton diffusion, and charge transfer.     

Catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of beta-keto esters: effects of the linker heteroatom in linked-BINOL

We describe the development of a general catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of acyclic beta-keto esters to cyclic enones, in which asymmetric induction occurs at the beta-position of the acceptors. Among the various asymmetric catalyst systems examined, the newly developed La-NR-linked-BINOL complexes (R = H or Me) afforded the best results in terms of reactivity and selectivity. In general, the NMe ligand 2 was suitable for the combination of small enones and small beta-keto esters, and the NH ligand 1 was suitable for bulkier substrates (steric tuning of the catalyst). Using the La-NMe-linked-BINOL complex, the Michael reaction of methyl acetoacetate (8a) to 2-cyclohexen-1-one (7b) gave the corresponding Michael adduct 9ba in 82% yield and 92% ee. The linker heteroatom in linked-BINOL is crucial for achieving high reactivity and selectivity in the Michael reaction of beta-keto esters. The amine moiety in the NR-linked-BINOL can also tune the Lewis acidity of the central metal (electronic tuning of the catalyst), which was supported by density functional studies and experimental results. Another advantage of the NR-linked-BINOL ligand as compared with O-linked-BINOL is the ease of modifying a substituent on the amine moiety, making it possible to synthesize a variety of NR-linked-BINOL ligands for further improvement or development of new asymmetric catalyses by introducing additional functionality on the linker with the amine moiety. The efficiency of the present asymmetric catalysis was demonstrated by the synthesis of the key intermediate of (-)-tubifolidine and (-)-19,20-dihydroakuammicine in only five steps compared to the nine steps required by the original process from the Michael product of malonate. This strategy is much more atom economical. On the basis of the results of mechanistic studies, we propose that a beta-keto ester serves as a ligand as well as a substrate and at least one beta-keto ester should be included in the active catalyst complex. Further improvement of the reaction by maintaining an appropriate ratio of the La-NMe-linked-BINOL complex and beta-keto esters is also described.     

关于含杂HMO中参数h,k的研究

本文对含杂HMO的参数h,κ在较大范围内进行了系统的计算,并设法造一函数F(h,κ)将得到的总π电子能与化合物的原子化热数据进行比较。结果表明,即使对于杂原子二元取代苯的三种异构体面言,对于相同的杂原子都不存在普适的h,κ。计算结果也表明,h,κ参数在一定范围内变动时,对HMO结果在定性方面不会带来实质性的影响.     

Exploring the heteroatom effect on polyelectrolyte multilayer assembly: the neglected polyoniums

Different positive polyelectrolytes having the same charge density, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution were employed for polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEMU) assembly. The polycations differed only in the heteroatom on which the positive charge resided: poly(vinyl benzyl trimethyl ammonium) chloride, poly(vinyl benzyl trimethyl phosphonium) chloride, and poly(vinyl benzyl dimethyl sulfonium) chloride. While the ammonium repeat unit has been employed on numerous occasions for PEMU assembly, the phosphonium and sulfonium units are relatively neglected. The polyanions, poly(styrene sulfonate), PSS, or poly(acrylic acid), PAA, were typical pH-independent or pH-dependent polymers, respectively. All three polyoniums were quite similar in showing linear layer-by-layer buildup with PSS and exponential growth with PAA, under the conditions employed. Hydration and wettability were also similar between polyoniums.     

Structural effects in heteroatom systems. II. The calculated influence of steric effects on polymerization–depolymerization equilibria in the siloxane and oxymethylene series. Comparisons with the phosphazene system.

The relative stabilities of symmetrically substituted polysiloxanes and polyoxymethylenes are compared in terms of the side-group steric overlap parameters, by means of a semiempirical method described previously. The results provide a qualitative estimate of the relative thermodynamic ease of polymerization of cyclic siloxanes or monomeric methylene oxides or, conversely, of the relative resistance to depolymerization of the polymers. These calculated values are compared with those reported previously for phosphazenes. In general, for polymers of the type, [R₂Si? O]_n, [R₂C? O]_n, and [R₂P?N]_n, if the side group, R, is small (H, halogen or methyl) the inherent steric and bonding characteristics of the chain should cause the polymer stabilities to decrease in the order phosphazenes ≈ siloxanes ? oxymethylenes. If, however, bulkier side groups are present, the order of decreasing stability to depolymerization should be siloxanes > phosphazenes ? oxymethylenes. In all cases, the depolymerization tendency should increase markedly as the side group overlap parameters increase, and polyoxymethylenes should be the most sensitive to such changes. The calculated results are compared with the limited experimental evidence at present available.     

Theoretical studies of electron transport in thiophene dimer: effects of substituent group and heteroatom

The electron-transport properties of various substituted molecules based on the thiol-ended thiophene dimer (2Th1DT) are investigated through density functional theory (DFT) combined with nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method. The current-voltage (I-V) curves of all the Au/2Th1DT/Au systems in this work display similar steplike features, while their equilibrium conductances show a large difference and some of these I-V curves are asymmetric distinctly. The results reveal the dependence of conductance on the energy level of the substituted 2Th1DT molecules. Rectification ratios are computed to examine the asymmetric properties of the I-V curves. The rectifying behavior in the 2Th1DT molecule containing the amino group close to the molecular end is more prominent than that in the other molecules. The rectifying behavior is analyzed through transmission spectra and molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH) states. Slight negative differential resistance (NDR) can be observed in some of the systems. The electron-transport properties of 2Th1DT molecules containing different heteroatoms are also investigated. The results indicate that the current in heteroatom-containing molecules is larger than that in their pristine analogues, and lighter heteroatoms are more favorable than heavier heteroatoms for electron transport of the thiophene dimer.     

Proximity and the heteroatom effects on the carbon-13 chemical shifts of methyl-substituted phenols,anilines and thiophenols

Upfield substituent-induced ¹³C chemical shifts for aryl carbons of polymethyl substituted benzenes, phenols, anilines and thiophenols were investigated as a function of the proximity between substituents X and CH₃ (X = CH₃, NH₂, OH and SH). The results indicate that the induced shifts of the substituted aryl carbons are, in general, independent of the polar substituent but depend on the number of adjacent substituted aryl carbons. A ?2.0 ppm upfield shift was found for a substituted aryl carbon adjacent to one substituted aryl carbon and a ?3.8 ppm upfield shift for a substituted aryl carbon bound by two substituted aryl carbons. It is suggested that the near additivity of the upfield shifts is the result of changes in the bond order between the aromatic ring carbons in the region of the substituted aryl carbons due to distortion of the ring. The ¹³C chemical shifts of the methyl substituents for methyl substituted phenols, anilines and thiophenols were determined, and it was found that the values could be predicted from the additivity parameters reported for the analogous methylbenzenes plus an additional pair-interaction term associated with the through-space electronic influence of the heteroatom.     

Basis set effects on calculated geometries: 6-311++G** vs. aug-cc-pVDZ

The effect of basis sets on MP2 and CCSD calculated geometries has been investigated for a series of small organic molecules with two to four nonhydrogen atoms. Whereas 6-311++G** usually leads to satisfactory structures, this was not true with aug-cc-pVDZ, although it uses more basis functions than the former set. In addition, the smaller 6-311++G** invariably leads to lower calculated energies than aug-cc-pVDZ. With a given basis set, CCSD gives more satisfactory calculated geometries than MP2, but with a much greater computation time. For the compounds in this report, B3LYP/6-311++G** is quite effective in giving satisfactory calculated geometries at a relatively small computational cost.     

Effects of heteroatom substituents on the properties of 1,2-dioxetanes

Nitrogen and sulfur-substituted dioxetanes exhibit dramatically lower activation energies for decomposition compared to the corresponding oxygen-bearing dioxetane. A mechanism involving intramolecular electron-transfer processes is proposed for the cleavage of these unstable dioxetanes.     

Conformational and electronic effects on the regioselectivity of the glycosylation of different anomers of N-dimethylmaleoyl-protected glucosamine acceptors

In a previous paper (Bohn et al., Carbohydr. Res., 2007, 342, 2522) the relative O3/O4 reactivities of both alpha- and beta-methyl glycosides of N-dimethylmaleoyl (DMM) glucosamine acceptors protected at O6 with three different groups were assessed by us, using two glycosyl donors. The alpha-anomers showed preferential or exclusive substitution at O3, whereas the beta-anomers gave preferential or exclusive substitution at O4. A DFT study of analogs of the reported acceptors indicates that whereas the beta-anomers carry the DMM ring parallel to the C2-H2 bond for steric reasons, the alpha-anomers tilt this ring producing a strong hydrogen bond between the H(O)3 and one of the DMM carbonyl groups. In this way, the O3 group becomes more nucleophilic and thus more reactive: both charge and Fukui functions on O3 and O4 in the model compounds support the experimental results. Surprisingly, the previously mentioned hydrogen bond is not the only driving force for the slant of the DMM group: the axial methoxyl group of the alpha-anomers also plays a role. The ease of rotation around the C2-N2 bond for DMM-protected analogs was assessed with different models. MP2 calculations using higher basis sets yield similar relative energy and charge values to those calculated using DFT.     

Electronic and photophysical properties of selected organic boron-containing molecules: Insight into effects of heteroatom substitution and aggregation

The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT methods were used to investigate the electronic and optoelectronic properties of several main group atom-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as oxygen-substituted PHO1 and PHO2, and sulfur-substituted PHS1 and PHS2. The ground-state structures of these molecules generally have an open-shell singlet configuration with a certain diradical character. In comparison with PHO1 and PHO2, PHS1 and PHS2 own larger diradical character indices due to their increased anti-aromaticity. Although the substitution of sulfur for the peripheral oxygen has a significant effect on the molecular geometry, the adiabatic excitation energy levels of the corresponding low-lying excited states of these molecules are less changed. Calculations reveal that here the intersystem crossing (ISC) and reverse intersystem crossing processes in CH₂Cl₂ mainly occur between the S₁ and T₂ states, and the cis molecules PHO2 and PHS2 have better charge transportation performance. Furthermore, the electronic and photophysical properties of these B-containing molecules are predicted to be tuned by the peripheral atom substitution and the structural and aggregation changes.     

Ground state vs. transition state substituent effects on reactions of aziridinium salts

The possibility that the similarity of Hammett ρ values for several very different reactions of 2-arylaziridinium salts is due to ground state effects was investigated by MO methods and ESCA. Minimum energy structures of p-nitrophenyl-, phenyl-, and p-methoxyphenyl-substituted ions, however, have the same C₂? N bond lengths. This result shows that substituent effects are primarily a transition state phenomenon, even in the three-membered ring heterocycles. In agreement, the ground state does not have significant amino carbocation character based on similar charge distributions of 2-phenyl-N,N-dimethylaziridinium ion and N,N,N-trimethylbenzylammonium ion as well as the same nitrogen ls binding energies by ESCA studies on corresponding salts.