Role of Conical Intersections on the Efficiency of Fluorescent Organic Molecular Crystals

Designing Dual-State and Aggregation-Induced Emissive Luminogens from Lignocellulosic Biosourced Molecules

Utilizing lignocellulosic biosourced platforms, we synthesized novel cyanostilbene (CS) derivatives featuring the 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl moiety. These derivatives were investigated for their emission properties in both solution and solid states. The two simple CS derivatives exhibit very weak luminescence in solution but significant luminescence in the solid state, indicating distinct Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) characteristic. Furthermore, combining these two CS units, without conjugation and with quasi perpendicular orientation, results in a Dual-State Emission (DSE) fluorophore showing luminescence both in solution and solid states. X-ray crystallography studies on the solid-state compounds reveal a structure-emission relationship, demonstrating that the colour emission correlates with the conformations adopted by the molecules in the solid state, which influence the type of stacking.

Performance of point charge embedding schemes for excited states in molecular organic crystals

Modeling excited state processes in molecular crystals is relevant for several applications. A popular approach for studying excited state molecular crystals is to use cluster models embedded in point charges. In this paper, we compare the performance of several embedding models in predicting excited states and S1-S0 optical gaps for a set of crystals from the X23 molecular crystal database. The performance of atomic charges based on ground or excited states was examined for cluster models, Ewald embedding, and self-consistent approaches. We investigated the impact of various factors, such as the level of theory, basis sets, embedding models, and the level of localization of the excitation. We consider different levels of theory, including time-dependent density functional theory and Tamm-Dancoff approximation (TDA) (DFT functionals: ωB97X-D and PBE0), CC2, complete active space self-consistent field, and CASPT2. We also explore the impact of selection of the QM region, charge leakage, and level of theory for the description of different kinds of excited states. We implemented three schemes based on distance thresholds to overcome overpolarization and charge leakage in molecular crystals. Our findings are compared against experimental data, G0W0-BSE, periodic TDA, and optimally tuned screened range-separated functionals.

Design Concepts for Solution and Solid-State Emitters - A Modern Viewpoint on Classical and Non-Classical Approaches

For a long time, luminescence phenomena were strictly distinguished between the emission of isolated molecules in dilute solutions or close-packed structures such as in powders or aggregates. This changed with the breakthrough observation of dual-state efficient materials, which led to a rapid boost of publications examining the influence of structural features to achieve balanced emission with disregarded molecular surroundings. Some first general structural design concepts have already been proposed based on reoccurring patterns and pivotal motifs. However, we have found another way to classify these solution and solid-state emitters (SSSEs). Hence, this minireview aims to present an overview of published structural features of SSSEs while shining light on design concepts from a more generalized perspective. Since SSSEs are believed to bridge the gap of hitherto known aggregation-sensitive compound classes, we hope to give future scientists a versatile tool in hand to efficiently design novel luminescent materials.

From a one-mode to a multi-mode understanding of conical intersection mediated ultrafast organic photochemical reactions

This review discusses how ultrafast organic photochemical reactions are controlled by conical intersections, highlighting that decay to the ground-state at multiple points of the intersection space results in their multi-mode character.

Competition between ultralong organic phosphorescence and thermally activated delayed fluorescence in dichloro derivatives of 9-benzoylcarbazole

Optoelectronic materials based on metal-free organic molecules represent a promising alternative to traditional inorganic devices. Significant attention has been devoted to the development of the third generation of OLEDs which are based on the temperature-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) mechanism. In the last few years, several materials displaying ultra-long organic phosphorescence (UOP) have been designed using strategies such as crystal engineering and halogen functionalisation. Both TADF and UOP are controlled by the population of triplet states and the energy gaps between the singlet and triplet manifolds. In this paper, we explore the competition between TADF and UOP in the molecular crystals of three dichloro derivatives of 9H-carbazol-3-yl(phenyl)methanone. We investigate the excited state mechanisms in solution and the crystalline phase and address the effects of exciton transport and temperature on the rates of direct and reverse intersystem crossing under the Marcus-Levich-Jortner model. We also analyse how the presence of isomeric impurities and the stabilisation of charge transfer states affect these processes. Our simulations explain the different mechanisms observed for the three derivatives and highlight the role of intramolecular rotation and crystal packing in determining the energy gaps. This work contributes to a better understanding of the connection between chemical and crystalline structures that will enable the design of efficient materials.

Light-Harvesting Crystals Formed from BODIPY-Proline Biohybrid Conjugates: Antenna Effects and Excitonic Coupling

A boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivative bearing a cis-proline residue at the meso-position crystallizes in the form of platelets with strong (i.e., Φ_F = 0.34) red fluorescence, but the absorption and emission spectra differ markedly from those for dilute solutions. A key building block for the crystal is a pseudo-dimer where hydrogen bonding aligns the proline groups and separates the terminal chromophores by ca. 25 Å. Comparison with a covalently linked bichromophore suggests that one-dimensional (1D) excitonic coupling between the terminals is too small to perturb the optical properties. However, accretion of the pseudo-dimer forms narrow channels possessing a high density of chromophores. The resultant absorption spectrum exhibits strong excitonic splitting, which can be explained quantitatively using the extended dipole approach and allowing for coupling between ca. 30 BODIPY units. Fluorescence, which decays with a lifetime of 2.2 ns, is assigned to a delocalized and (slightly) super-radiant BODIPY dimer situated at the interface and populated via electronic energy transfer from the interior.

A two-step MM and QM/MM approach to model AIEE of aryloxy benzothiadiazole derivatives for optoelectronic applications

Aryloxy-benzothiadiazole (ArO-Btz) derivatives show aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) in the solid-state and are promising candidates for optoelectronic applications. However, understanding the AIEE is a challenging task and is necessary for the rational molecular design of emitters. Therefore, in the present study, electron acceptors (-F, -CN, -NO₂, and -COOH) on the benzothiadiazole ring have been screened for emission in solution and aggregated phases. Herein, we report QM (DFT/TDDFT) and ONIOM (QM/MM) studies on the four ArO-Btz derivatives in comparison with the parent molecule with typical characteristics of AIEE, optoelectronic and non-linear optical properties. Starting from the optimized crystal structure of the parent compound, the structures of the designed clusters have been pre-optimized with MM and then with QM/MM to explore their absorption and emission in the solid phase. The results indicate that in the aggregated phase, the surrounding environment reduces intra-molecular rotations and molecular motion that lead to enhanced emission. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses reveal that the ground state structure is stabilized from electron delocalization and operative push-pull effects. Interestingly, nitro-benzothiadiazole exhibits prominent AIEE phenomena, with an emission wavelength beyond 700 nm in solution and in the cluster, reinforced by the magnification of its oscillatory strength by 100 times when aggregated. This dinitro-aryloxy-benzothiadiazole derivative is proposed as a near-infrared emitter for dye-sensitized solar cell, optoelectronic, and non-linear optical applications.

Recent Trends in the Design, Synthesis, Spectroscopic Behavior, and Applications of Benzazole-Based Molecules with Solid-State Luminescence Enhancement Properties

Molecules that exhibit solid-state luminescence enhancement, i.e. the rare property to be more strongly emissive in the solid state than in solution, find an increasing number of applications in the fields of optoelectronic and nanophotonic devices, sensors, security papers, imaging, and theranostics. Benzazole (BZ) heterocycles are of particular value in this context. The simple enlargement of their π-electron system using a -C=C-Ar or -N=C-Ar moiety is enough for intrinsic solid-state luminescence enhancement (SLE) properties to appear. Their association with a variety of polyaromatic motifs leads to SLE-active molecules that frequently display attractive electroluminescent properties and are sensitive to mechanical stimuli. The excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process that takes place in some hydroxy derivatives reinforces the SLE effect and enables the development of new sensors based on a protection/deprotection strategy. BZ may also be incorporated into frameworks that are prototypical aggregation-induced enhancement (AIE) luminogens, such as the popular tetraphenylethene (TPE), leading to materials with excellent optical and electroluminescent performance. This review encompasses the various ways to use BZ units in SLE systems. It underlines the significant progresses recently made in the understanding of the photophysical mechanisms involved. A brief overview of the synthesis shows that BZ units are robust building blocks, easily incorporated into a variety of structures. Generally speaking, we try to show how these small heterocycles may offer advantages for the design of increasingly efficient luminescent materials.

Caveat when using ADC(2) for studying the photochemistry of carbonyl-containing molecules

Several electronic-structure methods are available to study the photochemistry and photophysics of organic molecules. Among them, ADC(2) stands as a sweet spot between computational efficiency and accuracy. As a result, ADC(2) has recently seen its number of applications booming, in particular to unravel the deactivation pathways and photodynamics of organic molecules. Despite this growing success, we demonstrate here that care has to be taken when studying the nonradiative pathways of carbonyl-containing molecules, as ADC(2) appears to suffer from a systematic flaw.

Bright Frenkel Excitons in Molecular Crystals: A Survey

We computed the optical properties of a large set of molecular crystals (∼2200 structures) composed of molecules whose lowest excited states are strongly coupled and generate wide excitonic bands. Such bands are classified in terms of their dimensionality (1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional), the position of the optically allowed state in relation with the excitonic density of states, and the presence of Davydov splitting. The survey confirms that one-dimensional aggregates are rare in molecular crystals highlighting the need to go beyond the simple low-dimensional models. Furthermore, this large set of data is used to search for technologically interesting and less common properties. For instance, we considered the largest excitonic bandwidth that is achievable within known molecular crystals and identified materials with strong super-radiant states. Finally, we explored the possibility that strong excitonic coupling can be used to generate emissive states in the near-infrared region in materials formed by molecules with bright visible absorption and we could identify the maximum allowable red shift in this material class. These insights with the associated searchable database provide practical guidelines for designing materials with interesting optical properties.