Optical and Electrical Properties of Triphenylamine Derivatives for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells and Designing of Novel Molecule

With density functional theory(DFT) method, the optimization of molecular configurations and the calculation of frontier molecular orbitals were achieved for triphenylamine(TPA)-based dye-sensitized solar cell materials at the B3LYP/6-31G(d, p) level. Time-dependent density functional theory(TD-DFT) was applied to calculating the probability of the transition from the ground state to the excited state. And UV-Vis absorption spectra were derived with Franck-Condon approximation. The conjugation length, substitution groups and spatial effects show a slight influence on the dihedral angle of the TPA group. The increase of conjugation length may cause a smaller energy gap as well as a higher highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) and a lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The introduction of methoxyl group and TPA group could lower the energy gap while the HOMO and LUMO were elevated in energy.     

Evolution of the Optical Gap in the Acene Series: Undecacene

Undecacene, the largest member of the acene family, was photogenerated in a polymer matrix under cryogenic conditions from a precursor with two α‐diketone bridges. The electronic absorption of undecacene extends into the NIR region, but the spectrum is dominated by two strong absorptions in the UV/Vis range. The HOMO–LUMO transition is continuously shifted to lower energies as the number of rings of the acene increases (E vs. 1/N, N=number of rings), which is in line with the strong electron correlation calculated by DFT/MRCI.     

Phthalocyanine‐Based Organometallic Nanocages: Properties and Gas Storage

Phthalocyanine (Pc) molecules are well‐known flexible structural units for 1D nanotubes and 2D nanosheets. First‐principles calculations combined with grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain the geometries, electronic structures, optical properties, and hydrogen‐storage capacities of nanocages consisting of six Pc molecules with six Mg or Ca atoms. The primitive Pc cage has T_h symmetry with twofold degeneracy in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), and threefold degeneracy in the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO); the corresponding HOMO–LUMO gap is found to be 0.97 eV. The MgPc and CaPc cages have O_h symmetry with a HOMO–LUMO gap of 1.24 and 1.13 eV, respectively. Optical absorption spectra suggest that the Pc‐based cages can absorb infrared light, which is different from the visible‐light absorption in Pc molecules. We further show that the excess uptake of hydrogen on MgPc and CaPc cages at 298 K and 100 bar (1 bar=0.1 MPa) is about 3.49 and 4.74 wt %, respectively. The present study provides new insight into Pc‐based nanostructures with potential applications.     

Structure of the T1-state wave function of linear polyenes

Configuration interaction singles (CIS) calculations of the planar T₁ state of hexatriene, octatetraene, decapentaene, and dodecahexaene showed that the (HOMO−i)→(LUMO+i) type single excitations contribute significantly. This is attributed to the similarity of the HOMO, LUMO, and HOMO−i, LUMO+i overlap densities which stem from nodal properties of the π molecular orbitals. CASSCF calculations for hexatriene and octatetraene also showed remarkable contributions of the (HOMO−i)→(LUMO+i) type singly excited configurations. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 67: 101–106, 1998     

Structural, electronic, and optical properties of 9-heterofluorenes: a quantum chemical study

Density-functional theory studies were applied to investigate the structural, electronic, and optical properties of 9-heterofluorenes achieved by substituting the carbon at 9 position of fluorene with silicon, germanium, nitrogen, phosphor, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, or boron. These heterofluorenes and their oligomers up to pentamers are highly aromatic and electrooptically active. The alkyl and aryl substituents of the heteroatom have limited influence, but the oxidation of the atom has significant influence on their molecular structures and properties. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) interaction theory was successfully applied to analyze the energy levels and the frontier wave functions of these heterofluorenes. Most heterofluorenes belong to type B of interaction with low-lying LUMO and have the second kind of wave function. Carbazole and selenafluorene have type C of interaction with high-lying HOMO and the third kind of wave function. Types C and D of heterofluorenes, such as carbazole, oxygafluorene, sulfurafluorene, and selenafluorene also have high triplet state energies. The extrapolated HOMO and LUMO for polyheterofluorenes indicate that polyselenonafluorene has the lowest LUMO; polycarbazole has the highest HOMO; polyselenafluorene has the highest bandgap (E(g)); and polyborafluorene has the lowest E(g). Heterofluorenes and their oligomers and polymers are of great experimental interests, especially those having extraordinary properties revealed in this study.     

氟取代三(8-羟基喹啉)铝衍生物电子结构、电子光谱的量子化学研究: 实现蓝色发光的途径

采用Gaussian 03程序包和密度泛函理论(DFT)B3LYP/6-31G方法, 研究了三(8-羟基喹啉)铝(Alq3)的3种氟代衍生物的电子结构与电子光谱, 讨论了氟原子在不同位置取代对Alq3的前线轨道、HOMO-LUMO能隙以及电子光谱的影响, 发现氟取代使Alq3的前线轨道能级降低, 在6位碳上氟代的Alq3的HOMO-LUMO能隙变大, 吸收和发射光谱发生蓝移, 而在5和7位碳上氟代的Alq3能隙变小, 吸收和发射光谱发生红移. 理论模拟结果与实验事实基本吻合, 证明在Alq3分子的合适位置进行化学修饰可实现蓝色发光.     

Conjugated polymers for pure UV light emission: Poly(meta‐phenylenes)

We report the synthesis of a 3‐ethylhexyloxy substituted poly(meta‐phenylene), EHO‐PMP that shows absorption and solid state photoluminescence exclusively in the UV region of the electromagnetic spectrum with an emission maximum of 345 nm. Computational analysis of model oligomers by DFT methods indicates that EHO‐PMP is a wide bandgap polymer with the HOMO being localized on a dimeric (biphenyl) unit and with the LUMO being more delocalized. The energy of the LUMO, however, suggests that inefficient electron injection would occur from currently available cathode materials in standard light‐emitting device architectures, and this was observed experimentally. The computational results, coupled with experimental observation, lead us to believe that efficient electroluminescence from organic polymer UV emitters requires advances in electron transport layers and cathode materials. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

The Pi‐Nature of Methyl Obtained by the Natural Bond Orbital Method: Orbital‐Based Rationalizations of Site‐Dependent Substitution Effects on Fine Color‐Tuning of Luminescence

Both C‐H bonding and antibonding (σ_CH and σ*_CH) of a methyl group would contribute to the highest occupied or lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO or LUMO) in methylated derivatives of Ir(ppz)₂ 3 iq (ppz = 1‐phenylpyrazole and 3iq = isoquinoline‐3‐carboxylate). This is found by analysis of HOMO (or LUMO) formed by linear combination of bond orbitals using the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. The elevated level of HOMO (or LUMO) uniformly found for each methylated derivative, indicating the σ_CH‐destabilization outweighs the σ*_CH‐stabilization. To broaden the HOMO‐LUMO gap, methylation at a carbon having smaller contribution to HOMO and/or larger contribution to LUMO is suggested.     

Highly Pure Synthesis,Spectral Assignments,and Two‐Photon Properties of Cruciform Porphyrin Pentamers Fused with Benzene Units

Tetrameric porphyrin formation of 2‐hydroxymethylpyrrole fused with porphyrins through a bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene unit gave bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene‐fused porphyrin pentamers. Thermal conversion of the pentamers gave fully π‐conjugated cruciform porphyrin pentamers fused with benzene units in quantitative yields. UV/Vis spectra of fully π‐conjugated porphyrin pentamers showed one very strong Q absorption and were quite different from those of usual porphyrins. From TD‐DFT calculations, the HOMO level is 0.49 eV higher than the HOMO?1 level. The LUMO and LUMO+1 levels are very close and are lower by more than 0.27 eV than those of other unoccupied MOs. The strong Q absorption was interpreted as two mutually orthogonal single‐electron transitions (683 nm: 86 %, HOMO→LUMO; 680 nm: 86 %, HOMO→LUMO+1). The two‐photon absorption (TPA) cross section value (σ⁽²⁾) of the benzene‐fused porphyrin pentamer was estimated to be 3900 GM at 1500 nm, which is strongly correlated with a cruciform molecular structure with multidirectional π‐conjugation pathways.     

How Does Substitutional Doping Affect Visible Light Absorption in a Series of Homodisperse Ti11 Polyoxotitanate Nanoparticles?

Homodisperse doped polyoxotitanate nanoclusters with formulae Ti₁₁(MX)O₁₄(OiPr)₁₇ (M=Mn, Fe or Co; X=Cl, Br or I, OiPr=isopropoxide) display strongly dopant‐dependent properties. Spectroscopic solution and reflectance measurements backed up by density of states and time‐dependent DFT calculations based on the determined structures, show the prominent effect of FeX substitution by decreasing the HOMO–LUMO gap of the particles. The effect is attributed to the presence of an occupied Fe β orbital halfway up the bandgap, leading to long‐wavelength absorption with electron transfer to the titanium atoms of the cluster. Whereas the light absorption varies significantly with variation of the transition metal dopant, its dependency on the nature of the halogen atom or the change in dipole moment across the series is minor.     

A vinylene‐linked benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b']dithiophene‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole low‐bandgap polymer

A new heteroarylene‐vinylene donor–acceptor polymer P(BDT‐V‐BTD) with reduced bandgap has been synthesized and its photophysical, electronic and photovoltaic properties investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The structure of the polymer comprises an unprecedented combination of a strong donor (4,8‐dialkoxy‐benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b']dithiophene, BDT), a strong acceptor (2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole, BTD) and a vinylene spacer. The new polymer was obtained by a metal‐catalyzed cross‐coupling Stille reaction and fully characterized by NMR, UV–vis absorption, GPC, TGA, DSC and electrochemistry. Detailed ab initio computations with solvation effects have been performed for the monomer and model oligomers. The electrochemical investigation has ascertained the ambipolar character of the polymer and energetic values of HOMO, LUMO and bandgap matching materials‐design rules for optimized organic photovoltaic devices. The HOMO and LUMO energies are consistently lower than those of previous heteroarylene‐vinylene polymer while the introduction of the vinylene spacer afforded lower bandgaps compared to the analogous system P(BDT‐BTD) with no spacer between the aromatic rings. These superior properties should allow for enhanced photovoltages and photocurrents in photovoltaic devices in combination with PCBM. Preliminary photovoltaic investigation afforded relatively modest power conversion efficiencies of 0.74% (AM 1.5G, 100 mW/cm²), albeit higher than that of previous heteroarylene‐vinylene polymers and comparable to that of P(BDT‐BTD). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Theoretical Studies on the Electronic Structures and Optical Properties of Tri-aryl End-capped Terthiophene Derivatives

The relationships between electronic structures and spectra properties are investigated by DFT/TDDFT for terthiophene derivatives, BMA‐3T (tri‐aryl amine end‐capped terthiophene), BBA‐3T (tri‐aryl amine and tri‐aryl boron end‐capped terthiophene) and BPB‐3T (tri‐aryl boron end‐capped terthiophene). The calculated results show that BMA‐3T, BBA‐3T and BPB‐3T have higher HOMO energy level and lower ionization potentials (IPs) than 3T. BMA‐3T has good hole injection ability and hole‐transport property as reported in experiment. The designed molecule of BBA‐3T and BPB‐3T own lower LUMO level and higher electron affinities (EAs) than BMA‐3T, which facilitate electron injection and improve their electron‐transport properties. Surprisingly, BPB‐3T has preferable charge equilibrium property since its hole reorganization energy (λ_h) is close to electron reorganization energy (λ_e). The ΔE (HOMO−LUMO) and E_g of these three derivatives are narrower compared to 3T, and the absorption as well as emission spectrum exhibited red‐shifts.     

Tuning of the electronic properties of H‐passivated armchair graphene nanoribbons by mild border oxidation: Theoretical study on periodic models

We report the results of a DFT study of the electronic properties, intended as highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies, of periodic models of H‐passivated armchair graphene nanoribbons (a‐GNRs) as that synthetized by bottom‐up technique, functionalized by vicinal dialdehydic groups. This material can be obtained by border oxidation in mild and easy to control conditions with ¹Δ_g O₂ as we reported in our previous paper (Ghigo et al., ChemPhysChem 2015, 16, 3030). The calculations show that the two models of border oxidized a‐GNRs (model A, 0.98 nm and model B, 1.35 nm wide) present LUMO and HOMO energies lowered by an extend roughly linearly dependent on the amount of oxygen chemically bound. The frontier orbital energy variations dependence on the % wt of oxygen bound are, for model A: ?0.12 eV for the LUMO and ?0.05 eV for the HOMO; for model B: ?0.15 eV (HOMO) and ?0.06 eV (LUMO). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Introducing a new triazoloquinoxaline‐based fluorene copolymer for organic photovoltaics: Synthesis,characterization, and photovoltaic properties

A new donor‐acceptor copolymer consisting of triazoloquinoxaline and 9,9‐dialkylfluorene units on the main chain has been synthesized, characterized and evaluated as donor material in bulk heterojunction solar cells using PC₆₁BM as an acceptor. The resulting polymer PTQF showed good thermal stability and solubility in common organic solvents. Cyclic Voltammetry measurements showed that the PTQF has HOMO–LUMO energy levels of ?5.13 and ?3.62 eV, respectively. DFT calculations revealed that the HOMO is delocalized all over the thiophene and fluorene units and the LUMO is localized mainly on the triazole and pyrazine units. PTQF absorbs broadly in the visible region and exhibits a bandgap of 1.4 eV. Photovoltaic devices exhibited 1.7% efficiency for 1:2 PTQF:PC₆₁BM blend ratio using Ca/Ag electrodes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

New Low Bandgap Dithienylbenzothiadiazole Vinylene Based Copolymers: Synthesis and Photovoltaic Properties

Two new low‐bandgap block copolymers derived from dithienylbenzothiadiazole (DTBT) and different electron‐rich functional groups (dioctoxyl benzene and N‐octyl‐diphenylamine), poly(1,4‐dioctoxyl‐2,5‐divinylbenzene‐co‐4,7‐dithiophene‐2′‐yl‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole) (PPV‐DTBT), poly(3,8‐divinyl‐N‐octyl‐diphenylamine‐co‐4,7‐dithiophene‐2′‐yl‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole) (PDPAV‐DTBT), were synthesized by Heck cross‐coupling polymerization. PPV‐DTBT and PDPAV‐DTBT are easily soluble in common organic solvents such as o‐dichlorobenzene and chloroform. DSC and TGA results indicate that these copolymers possess good thermal stabilities. PPV‐DTBT and PDPAV‐DTBT films exhibit broad absorption bands at 300–765 nm (with an optical bandgap of 1.62 eV) and 300–733 nm (with an optical bandgap of 1.69 eV), respectively. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of PPV‐DTBT were estimated by cyclic voltammetry to be −5.43 and −3.74 eV, respectively, and the HOMO and LUMO of PDPAV‐DTBT were −5.37 and −3.7 eV, respectively. Preliminary photovoltaic cells based on the composite structure of ITO/PEDOT: PSS/PPV‐DTBT:PCBM (1: 2, w/w)/Al showed an open‐circuit voltage of 0.75 V, a power conversion efficiency of 0.6%, and a short circuit current of 1.7 mA · cm⁻².

     

A Semiempirical Study of Carbon Nanotubes with Finite Tubular Length and Various Tubular Diameters

A semiempirical PM3 quantum computational method has been used to generate the electronic and optimized geometrical structure of SWNT of zigzag and armchair types. We shed light on the electronic structures of SWNT with various diameters and lengths of the tube. Particularly, the calculated HOMO, LUMO and band‐gap of SWNT are not monotonic but exhibit a well‐defined oscillation, which depends on the tubular diameter and the tubular length. Calculated HOMO, LUMO and band‐gap of the zigzag SWNTs have oscillated with tubular diameter as they contain an odd or even number of benzenoids in the circular plane of the carbon nanotube. The zigzag SWNTs with an odd number of benzenoids have a higher band‐gap than those of SWNTs with an even number of benzenoids in the circular plane of the carbon nanotube. Calculated results also reveal that the tubular length in the zigzag SWNTs influences the band‐gaps very little. For the armchair SWNT, calculated HOMO, LUMO and band‐gap contained the oscillate depending on the number of carbon sections in the tubular length axis. Their repeat sections are 3n‐1, 3n and 3n+1. The armchair SWNT with 3n+1 sections has a high band‐gap while the SWNTs with 3n‐1 sections have a low band‐gap. The tubular diameters of armchair SWNT influence the HOMO, LUMO and band gap very little.     

Rational design of methacrylate monomers containing oxadiazole moieties for single‐layer organic light emitting devices

Methacrylate derived monomers functionalized with pendant oxadiazole moieties were synthesized and copolymerized with carbazole containing monomers to form polymers with electron and hole transporting fragments in the same molecule. Substituents on the oxidazole moiety were varied with the purpose of bandgap tuning and performance optimization when employed in single‐layer organic light emitting devices (OLED). Quantum mechanical calculations of the HOMO‐LUMO levels of the oxidazole derivatives were used to down‐select promising candidates for chemical synthesis and testing in single‐layer OLEDs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1663–1673     

Optical properties of (Z)‐2‐(2‐phenylhydrazinylidene)acenaphthen‐1(2H)‐one: a potential electron donor in organic solar cells

Electron‐donating molecules play an important role in the development of organic solar cells. (Z )‐2‐(2‐Phenylhydrazinylidene)acenaphthen‐1(2H )‐one (PDAK), C₁₈H₁₂N₂O, was synthesized by a Schiff base reaction. The crystal structure shows that the molecules are planar and are linked together forming `face‐to‐face' assemblies held together by intermolecular C—H…O, π–π and C—H…π interactions. PDAK exhibits a broadband UV–Vis absorption (200–648 nm) and a low HOMO–LUMO energy gap (1.91 eV; HOMO is the highest occupied molecular orbital and LUMO is the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital), while fluorescence quenching experiments provide evidence for electron transfer from the excited state of PDAK to C₆₀. This suggests that the title molecule may be a suitable donor for use in organic solar cells.     

A concise synthesis and electrochemical behavior of functionalized poly(thieno[3,4-b]thiophenes): New conjugated polymers with low bandgap

New thieno[3,4-b]thiophene derivatives were prepared via a short and versatile synthetic route. Electrochemical studies of 2-heptenylthieno[3,4-b]thiophene, 2-styrylthieno[3,4-b]thiophene, and 2-phenyl-3-(thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-2-yl)acrylonitrile and the corresponding polymers revealed that raising the HOMO and lowering the LUMO can be attained by functionalizing thieno[3,4-b]thiophene with aromatic resonance-enhancing and electron-withdrawing groups. The bandgap of resulting polymers varied from 0.78 to 1.0 eV, indicating that poly(2-phenyl-3-(thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-2-yl)acrylonitrile) is one of the lowest bandgap polymers ever reported.     

FT Raman and DFT Study on a Series of All‐anti Oligothienoacenes End‐Capped with Triisopropylsilyl Groups

Herein, we study the π‐conjugational properties of a homologous series of all‐anti oligothienoacenes containing four to eight fused thiophene rings by means of FT Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The theoretical analysis of the spectroscopic data provides evidence that selective enhancement of a very limited number of Raman scatterings is related to the occurrence in these oligothienoacenes of strong vibronic coupling between collective ν(C?C) stretching modes in the 1600–1300 cm^?1 region and the HOMO/LUMO frontier orbitals (HOMO=highest occupied molecular orbital; LUMO=lowest unoccupied molecular orbital). The correlation of the Raman spectroscopic data and theoretical results for these all‐anti oligothienoacenes with those previously collected for a number of all‐syn oligothienohelicenes gives further support to the expectation that cross‐conjugation is dominant in heterohelicenes. Fully planar all‐anti oligothienoacenes display linear π conjugation which seemingly does not reach saturation with increasing number of annulated thiophene rings in the oligomeric chain at least up to the octamer.