Spin-mediated superconductivity in cuprates, organic conductors and π–d conjugated systems

Structural, Magnetic and DFT studies on a Charge-Transfer Salt of a Tetrathiafulvalenepyridyl-(1,5-diisopropyl) verdazyl Diradical Cation

A new tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) donor covalently appended with a 1,5-diisopropylverdazyl radical through a cross-conjugated pyridyl linker (3) has been prepared and characterised. Reaction of 3 with tetracyanoquinonedimethane (TCNQ) afforded the 2:1 charge-transfer complex (3)₂ ⋅TCNQ (4), in which the IR and structural data are consistent with 0.25 e^- charge transfer from the TTF donor (D) to the TCNQ acceptor (A). The TTF and TCNQ molecules adopt a mixed-stack D⋅⋅⋅D⋅⋅⋅A arrangement that does not facilitate conduction. A solution EPR spectrum of 4 comprises a broad featureless singlet, which is consistent with the presence of a TCNQ radical anion. Theoretical studies were performed to probe the exchange interactions within selected fragments of 4 with and without charge transfer. In the absence of charge transfer, DFT calculations reveal weak antiferromagnetic exchange between verdazyl radicals within the (3)₂ monoradical unit. However, partial oxidation of the dimer (3)₂ to the diradical cation leads to an S= 1 / 2 ground state, in which the verdazyl radical spins are now aligned co-parallel as a consequence of antiferromagnetic exchange to the additional delocalised TTF-based spin containing unit. The magnetic properties of 4 are consistent with a net S= 1 / 2 spin state per formula unit with dominant antiferromagnetic interactions between spin-bearing building blocks.

EXCITON MIGRATION IN DENDRITIC AGGREGATE SYSTEMS USING THE QUANTUM MASTER EQUATION APPROACH INVOLVING WEAK EXCITON-PHONON COUPLING

The quantum master equation approach involving a weak exciton-phonon coupling is applied to the exciton migration dynamics of dendritic molecular aggregates modeled after a phenylacetylene dendrimer, D25, which exhibits an efficient light-harvesting property. The mechanism of efficient exciton migration from the periphery to the core is studied by analyzing relaxation terms among the exciton states originating in weak exciton-phonon coupling. Partial overlaps of exciton distributions between neighboring exciton states are found to be important for realizing the unique migration behavior by step-by-step transfer from the periphery to the core via multi-step exciton states. The same calculation method is applied to the exciton dynamics of a larger dendritic aggregate model, D127, modeled after the largest synthesized phenylacetylene dendrimer D127 in order to examine the dependencies of the exciton migration on the strength of the intermolecular interaction and the temperature of phonon bath. In the case of the relatively weak dipole-dipole coupling, exciton is not observed to migrate efficiently from the periphery to the core, while the largest exciton population is found to remain in the intermediate generations. This is ascribed to the fact that the thermal excitation to the higher exciton states significantly contributes to the exciton distribution in the equilibrium state when the weak intermolecular interaction reduces the energy difference between exciton states. This indicates that the intermolecular interaction is important not only for the overlaps of the exciton distributions between the exciton states, but also the relation between the exciton energy differences and thermal excitations, which spoil the distinct concentration of exciton distribution in the core generation. In the case of a low temperature, even if the intermolecular interaction is weak, the exciton population in the core region is found to be the largest in all the generations. This suggests that exciton tends to efficiently migrate from the periphery to the core when the temperature is sufficiently low. Implications of these theoretical results are discussed in relation to design of magneto-optical materials and other technological applications.

New BEDT-TTF/[Fe(C5O5)3]3- Hybrid System: Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Physical Properties of a Chirality-Induced α Phase and a Novel Magnetic Molecular Metal

The paramagnetic and chiral anion [Fe(C5O5)3]3- (C5O52-=croconate) has been combined with the organic donor BEDT-TTF (=ET=bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene) to synthesize a novel paramagnetic semiconductor with the first chirality-induced alpha phase, alpha-(BEDT-TTF)5[Fe(C5O5)3].5H2O (1), and one of the few known paramagnetic molecular metals, beta-(BEDT-TTF)5[Fe(C5O5)3].C6H5CN (2). Both compounds present layers of BEDT-TTF molecules, with the alpha or beta packing modes, alternating with layers containing the high-spin S=5/2 Fe(III) anions and solvent molecules. In the alpha phase, the alternation of the chiral [Fe(C5O5)3]3- anions along the direction perpendicular to the BEDT-TTF chains induces an alternation of the tilt angle of the BEDT-TTF molecules, giving rise to the observed alpha phase. The alpha phase presents a semiconductor behavior with a high room-temperature conductivity (6 S.cm-1) and an activation energy of 116 meV. The beta phase presents a metallic behavior down to ca. 120 K, where a charge localization takes place with a reentrance to the metallic state below ca. 20 K followed by a metal-semiconductor transition at ca. 10 K. The magnetic properties are dominated by the paramagnetic S=5/2 [Fe(C5O5)3]3- anion with an extra Pauli-type paramagnetism in the metallic beta phase. The ESR spectra confirm the presence of the high-spin Fe(III)-containing anion and show a progressive localization in the organic sublattice along with an antiferromagnetic coupling below ca. 120 K that, in the metallic beta phase, could be at the origin of the transition from the metallic to the activated conductivity regime. The correlation between crystal structure and conductivity behavior has been studied by means of tight-binding band structure calculations which provide a rationalization of the charge distribution and conductivity results.