Hopping Transport in Conductive Heterocyclic Oligomers: Reorganization Energies and Substituent Effects

Electronic and charge transport properties of dimers of dithienothiophenes: effect of structural symmetry and linking mode

The effects of structural symmetry and linking mode on the electronic and transport properties of trithiophene-based dimerization materials are investigated by means of a theoretical approach.

Theoretical exploration of the nanoscale host–guest interactions between [n]cycloparaphenylenes (n = 10, 8 and 9) and fullerene C60: from single- to three-potential well

The host–guest interactions between C₆₀ and [n]cycloparaphenylene ([n]CPP; n = 10, 8 and 9) are in the manner of single-, double- and three-potential wells, respectively.

A theoretical study on photophysical properties of triphenylamine-cored molecules with naphthalimide arms and different π-conjugated bridges as organic solar cell materials

Theoretical investigations show that star-shaped molecules are expected to be promising candidates for charge transfer and donor materials for OSCs.

Key factors in determining the arrangement of π-conjugated oligomers inside carbon nanotubes

Dispersion corrected DFT calculations found different arrangements of π-conjugated oligomers inside a carbon nanotube, dependent on the type of oligomer, which are responsible for determining the oligomers’ electronic properties.

Polymorphism dependent charge transport property of 9,10-bis((E)-2-(pyrid-2-yl)vinyl)anthracene: a theoretical study

Polymorphism dependent charge transport property of 9,10-bis((E)-2-(pyrid-2-yl)vinyl)anthracene, with the result of μ_β-BP2VA > μ_α-BP2VA > μ_γ-BP2VA, the hole mobility of β-BP2VA reached as high as ∼1 cm² V⁻¹ S⁻¹.

Theoretical studies on electronic structures and photophysical properties of anthracene derivatives as hole-transporting materials for OLEDs

The electronic structures and photophysical properties of anthracene derivatives as hole-transporting materials (HTM) in OLEDs have been studied by DFT and TD-DFT methods. Thiophene and triphenylamine (TPA) moieties are used as substituents in anthracene based HTMs providing FATn and FAPn compounds (n=1-2), respectively. The calculated electronic levels by B3LYP show proper energy matching of FAPn and hole-injecting layer (HIL), indicating that the hole-transports of the FAPn compounds are better than the FATn compounds. The photophysical properties calculated by TD-B3LYP elucidate that TPA in FAPn compounds acts as electron donating group and induces charge transfer character in the absorptions. Furthermore, the calculated ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA) and reorganization energies also revealed that the extended FAP2 compound has the highest charge-transporting ability among the studied compounds. The calculated results are consistent to our experimental observations showing that FAP2 exhibits bright fluorescence with highest quantum yield in electroluminescent devices. Understanding of these properties is useful for further design of new HTMs of desired properties, such as high efficiency and stability.

Theoretical investigation on the crystal structures and electron transport properties of several nitrogen-rich pentacene derivatives

Exploring and synthesizing new simple n-channel organic semiconductor materials with large electron mobility and high air stability have remained a major challenge and hot issue in the field of organic electronics. In the current work, the electron transport properties of four novel nitrogen-rich pentacene derivatives (PBD1, PBD2, PBD3, and PBD4) with two cyano groups as potential n-channel OFET materials have been investigated at the molecular and crystal levels by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations coupled with the prediction of crystal structures and the incoherent charge-hopping model. Calculations reveal that the studied compounds, which possess low-lying frontier molecular energy levels, large ionization potentials and electron affinities, are very stable exposed to air. Based on predicted crystal structures, the average electron mobility at room temperature (T = 300 K) for PBD1, PBD2, PBD3, and PBD4 is predicted to be as high as 0.950, 0.558, 0.518, and 1.052 cm²·V⁻¹·s⁻¹, which indicate that these four compounds are more than likely to be promising candidates as n-type OFET materials under favorable device conditions. However, this claim needs experimental verification. In addition, the angular-dependent simulation for electron mobility shows that the electron transport is remarkably anisotropic in these molecular crystals and the maximum μ(e) appears along the crystal axis direction since molecules along this direction exhibit the close face-to-face stacking arrangement with short interplanar distances (~3.6-4.0 Å), which induces large electronic couplings.

Rational design of organoboron derivatives as chemosensors for fluoride and cyanide anions and charge transport and luminescent materials for organic light-emitting diodes

The interactions between chemosensors, donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) dipolar organoboron derivatives, and different (CN⁻, F⁻, Cl⁻, and Br⁻) anions have been theoretically investigated using DFT approaches. Theoretical investigations have been performed to explore the optical, electronic, charge transport, and stability properties of organoboron derivatives as charge transport and luminescent materials for organic light emitting devices (OLEDs). It turned out that the unique selectivity of organoboron derivatives for F⁻/CN⁻ is ascribed to the formation of chemosensors complexes. The frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) and local density of states analysis have turned out that the vertical electronic transitions of absorption and emission for chemosensors and their F⁻/CN⁻ complexes are characterized as intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The formation of complexes has effect on the distribution of FMOs and the flowing direction of electronic density for vertical transition. The study of substituent effects suggests that the derivatives with thiophene (2), furan (3), and 1H-pyrrole (4) fragments, are expected to be promising candidates for ratiometric fluorescent fluoride and cyanide chemosensors as well as chromogenic chemosensors, whereas derivatives with pyridine (5) and pyrimidine (6) fragments can serve as chromogenic chemosensors only. Furthermore, all the derivatives are promising luminescent and hole transport materials and 2, 3, 5, and 6 can serve as electron transport materials for OLEDs.

Density Functional Theory Study Predicts Low Reorganization Energies for Azadipyrromethene-Based Metal Complexes

Small internal reorganization energy is desirable for high-performance optoelectronic materials, as it facilitates both charge separation and charge transport. However, only a handful of n-type electron accepting materials are known to have small reorganization energies. Here, DFT calculations were performed to predict the reorganization energy of azadipyrromethene-based dyes and their complexes. All compounds studied were most stable in their anionic state and had high electron affinity, indicating their potential as n-type material. The homoleptic zinc(II) complexes had significantly lower reorganization energies than either the free ligands or the BF2(+) chelates. The low reorganization energies of the zinc(II) complexes are explained by the large and rigid π conjugated system that extends across the two azadipyrromethene ligands via interligand π-π interactions. This work suggests that Zn(II) complexation is a novel strategy for obtaining materials that combine low internal reorganization energy with high electron affinity for the development of novel n-type optoelectronic materials.

First principles study of the structural, electronic, and transport properties of triarylamine-based nanowires

We investigate with state of the art density functional theory the structural, electronic, and transport properties of a class of recently synthesized nanostructures based on triarylamine derivatives. First, we consider the single molecule precursors in the gas phase and calculate their static properties, namely (i) the geometrical structure of the neutral and cationic ions, (ii) the electronic structure of the frontier molecular orbitals, and (iii) the ionization potential, hole extraction potential, and internal reorganization energy. This initial study does not evidence any direct correlation between the properties of the individual molecules and their tendency to self-assembly. Subsequently, we investigate the charge transport characteristics of the triarylamine derivatives nanowires, by using Marcus theory. For one derivative we further construct an effective Hamiltonian including intermolecular vibrations and evaluate the mobility from the Kubo formula implemented with Monte Carlo sampling. These two methods, valid respectively in the sequential hopping and polaronic band limit, give us values for the room-temperature mobility in the range 0.1-12 cm(2)/Vs. Such estimate confirms the superior transport properties of triarylamine-based nanowires, and make them an attracting materials platform for organic electronics.

A theoretical study on the injection, transport, absorption and phosphorescence properties of heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes with different ancillary ligands

We have reported a theoretical analysis of a series of heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes (mpmi)2Ir(fppi) [mpmi = 1-(4-tolyl)-3-methyl-imidazole, fppi = 4-fluoro-2-(pyrrol-2-yl)-pyridine] (1a), (mpmi)2Ir(dfpi) [dfpi = 4-fluoro-2-(3-fluoro-pyrrol-2-yl)-pyridine] (1b), (mpmi)2Ir(tfpi) [tfpi = 2-(pyrrol-2-yl)-4-trifluoromethyl-pyridine] (1c), (mpmi)2Ir(priq) [priq = 1-(pyrrol-2-yl)isoquinoline] (2a), (mpmi)2Ir(isql) [isql = 1-(indol-2-yl)-isoquinoline] (2b), and (mpmi)2Ir(biql) [biql = 1-(benzoimidazol-2-yl)-isoquinoline] (2c) by using the density functional theory (DFT) method to investigate their electronic structures, photophysical properties, and the phosphorescent efficiency mechanism. The results reveal that the nature of the ancillary ligands can affect the electron density distributions and energies of frontier molecular orbitals, resulting in changes of charge transfer performances and emission color. It is found that the studied complex 1c with the -CF3 substituent at the pyridine moiety results in the lower HOMO-LUMO energy gap and LUMO energy level, which will lead to a rich electron injection ability compared with that of 1a. For each complex studied (except 2b), the hole-transporting performance is better than the electron-transporting performance. In addition, for complexes 2a and 2b, the differences between reorganization energies for hole transport (λ(ih)) and reorganization energies for electron transport (λ(ie)) are relatively smaller, indicating that the hole and electron transfer balance could be achieved more easily in the emitting layer. It is believed that the largest metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) character, the higher μ(S1) and E(T1) values, as well as the smallest ΔE(S1-T1) value could result in higher phosphorescent quantum efficiency for 1b than those of other complexes.

Convenient access to readily soluble symmetrical dialkyl-substituted α-oligofurans

A combination of heteroatom directed lithiation/CuCl₂-induced homocoupling, Wittig olefination/Pd-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation followed by Suzuki–Miyaura or Stille cross-coupling enables convenient access to dialkyl-substituted α-oligofurans of potential interest for organic electronics.

Charge transfer properties of two polymorphs of luminescent (2-fluoro-3-pyridyl)(2,2′-biphenyl)borinic 8-oxyquinolinate

First example of polymorphism and its impact on the charge transport properties of a model borinic quinolinate system.

Larger π-extended anti-/syn-aroylenediimidazole polyaromatic compounds: synthesis, physical properties, self-assembly, and quasi-linear conjugation effect

Four polyaromatic compounds with 11- or 13-fused rings have been synthesized and their physical properties have been studied.

A theoretical analysis of the phosphorescence efficiencies of Cu(i) complexes

We herein report a theoretical analysis using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) to study the electronic structures and photophysical properties of mixed-ligand Cu(i) complexes.

Chain conformations dictate multiscale charge transport phenomena in disordered semiconducting polymers

Existing models for the electronic properties of conjugated polymers do not capture the spatial arrangement of the disordered macromolecular chains over which charge transport occurs. Here, we present an analytical and computational description in which the morphology of individual polymer chains is dictated by well-known statistical models and the electronic coupling between units is determined using Marcus theory. The multiscale transport of charges in these materials (high mobility at short length scales, low mobility at long length scales) is naturally described with our framework. Additionally, the dependence of mobility with electric field and temperature is explained in terms of conformational variability and spatial correlation. Our model offers a predictive approach to connecting processing conditions with transport behavior.

Theoretical study of photophysical properties of 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole-cored branched molecules with thienylenevinylene arms toward broad absorption spectra for solar cells

A series of oligo(thienylenevinylene) derivatives with 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole as core has been investigated at the PBE0/6-31G(d) and the TD-PBE0/6-31+G(d,p) levels to design materials with high performances such as broad absorption spectra and higher balance transfer property. The results show that position and amount of arm affect the electronic density contours of frontier molecular orbitals significantly. The molecule with four arms owns the narrowest energy gap and the largest maximum absorption wavelength, and the molecule with two arms in positions a and c has the broadest absorption region among the designed molecules. Calculated reorganization energies of the designed molecules indicate that the molecules with two arms can be good potential ambipolar transport materials under proper operating conditions.