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Bhat V, Callaway CP, Risko C. Computational Approaches for Organic Semiconductors: From Chemical and Physical Understanding to Predicting New Materials. Chem Rev 2023. [PMID: 37141497 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
While a complete understanding of organic semiconductor (OSC) design principles remains elusive, computational methods─ranging from techniques based in classical and quantum mechanics to more recent data-enabled models─can complement experimental observations and provide deep physicochemical insights into OSC structure-processing-property relationships, offering new capabilities for in silico OSC discovery and design. In this Review, we trace the evolution of these computational methods and their application to OSCs, beginning with early quantum-chemical methods to investigate resonance in benzene and building to recent machine-learning (ML) techniques and their application to ever more sophisticated OSC scientific and engineering challenges. Along the way, we highlight the limitations of the methods and how sophisticated physical and mathematical frameworks have been created to overcome those limitations. We illustrate applications of these methods to a range of specific challenges in OSCs derived from π-conjugated polymers and molecules, including predicting charge-carrier transport, modeling chain conformations and bulk morphology, estimating thermomechanical properties, and describing phonons and thermal transport, to name a few. Through these examples, we demonstrate how advances in computational methods accelerate the deployment of OSCsin wide-ranging technologies, such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic thermoelectrics, organic batteries, and organic (bio)sensors. We conclude by providing an outlook for the future development of computational techniques to discover and assess the properties of high-performing OSCs with greater accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinayak Bhat
- Department of Chemistry & Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0055, United States
| | - Connor P Callaway
- Department of Chemistry & Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0055, United States
| | - Chad Risko
- Department of Chemistry & Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0055, United States
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Physical Aging Behavior of the Side Chain of a Conjugated Polymer PBTTT. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15040794. [PMID: 36850080 PMCID: PMC9964067 DOI: 10.3390/polym15040794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper provides a viewpoint of the technology of the fast-scanning calorimetry with the relaxation behavior of disordered side chains of poly[2,5-bis(3-dodecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene] (PBTTT-C12) around the glass transition temperature of the side chains (Tg,γ). PBTTT is an ideal model of the high-performance copolymer of poly(alkylthiophenes) with side chains. The γ1 relaxation process of the disordered side chains of PBTTT was detected as a small endothermic peak that emerges before the γ2 relaxation process. It shows an increase with increasing temperature as it approaches the glass transition temperature of the disordered side chains of PBTTT. The ductile-brittle transition of PBTTT in low temperatures originating from the thermal relaxation process is probed and illustrated by physical aging experiments. The signature is shown that the relaxation process of the disordered side chain of PBTTT at low temperatures varies from Arrhenius temperature dependence to super Arrhenius temperature dependence at high temperatures. These observations could have significant consequences for the stability of devices based on conjugated polymers, especially those utilized for stretchable or flexible applications, or those demanding mechanical robustness during tensile fabrication or use in a low-temperature environment.
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Yoshimoto Y, Tomita Y, Sato K, Higashi S, Yamato M, Takagi S, Kawakami H, Kinefuchi I. Gas Adsorption and Diffusion Behaviors in Interfacial Systems Composed of a Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity and Amorphous Silica: A Molecular Simulation Study. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:7567-7579. [PMID: 35666952 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the adsorption and diffusion behaviors of CO2, CH4, and N2 in interfacial systems composed of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) and amorphous silica using grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We build model systems of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with PIM-1 chains sandwiched between silica surfaces. Gas adsorption analysis using GCMC simulations shows that gas molecules are preferentially adsorbed in microcavities distributed near silica surfaces, resulting in an increase in the solubility coefficients of CO2, CH4, and N2 compared to bulk PIM-1. In contrast, diffusion coefficients obtained from MD simulations and then calibrated using the dual-mode sorption model show different tendencies depending on gas species: CO2 diffusivity decreases in MMMs compared to PIM-1, whereas CH4 and N2 diffusivities increase. These differences are attributed to competing effects of silica surfaces: the emergence of larger pores as a result of chain packing disruption, which enhances gas diffusion, and a quadrupole-dipole interaction between gas molecules and silica surface hydroxyl groups, which retards gas diffusion. The former has a greater impact on CH4 and N2 diffusivities, whereas the latter has a greater impact on CO2 diffusivity due to the strong quadrupole-dipole interaction between CO2 and surface hydroxyls. These findings add to our understanding of gas adsorption and diffusion behaviors in the vicinity of PIM-1/silica interfaces, which are unobtainable in experimental studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Yoshimoto
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Yuiko Tomita
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Kohei Sato
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Shiori Higashi
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
| | - Masafumi Yamato
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
| | - Shu Takagi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Hiroyoshi Kawakami
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
| | - Ikuya Kinefuchi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
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Synthesis of Fullerenes from a Nonaromatic Chloroform through a Newly Developed Ultrahigh-Temperature Flash Vacuum Pyrolysis Apparatus. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11113033. [PMID: 34835796 PMCID: PMC8618344 DOI: 10.3390/nano11113033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) technique is useful for preparing curved polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) and caged nanocarbon molecules, such as the well-known corannulene and fullerene C60. However, the operating temperature of the traditional FVP apparatus is limited to ~1250 °C, which is not sufficient to overcome the high energy barriers of some reactions. Herein, we report an ultrahigh-temperature FVP (UT-FVP) apparatus with a controllable operating temperature of up to 2500 °C to synthesize fullerene C60 from a nonaromatic single carbon reactant, i.e., chloroform, at 1350 °C or above. Fullerene C60 cannot be obtained from CHCl3 using the traditional FVP apparatus because of the limitation of the reaction temperature. The significant improvements in the UT-FVP apparatus, compared to the traditional FVP apparatus, were the replacement of the quartz tube with a graphite tube and the direct heating of the graphite tube by impedance heating instead of indirect heating of the quartz tube using an electric furnace. Because of the higher temperature range, UT-FVP can not only synthesize fullerene C60 from single carbon nonaromatic reactants but sublimate some high-molecular-weight compounds to synthesize larger curved PAHs in the future.
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Mahmood A, Irfan A, Wang JL. Developing Efficient Small Molecule Acceptors with sp 2 -Hybridized Nitrogen at Different Positions by Density Functional Theory Calculations, Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Machine Learning. Chemistry 2021; 28:e202103712. [PMID: 34767281 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202103712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Chemical structure of small molecule acceptors determines their performance in organic solar cells. Multiscale simulations are necessary to avoid trial-and-error based design, ultimately to save time and resources. In current study, the effect of sp2 -hybridized nitrogen substitution at the inner or the outmost position of central core, side chain, and terminal group of small molecule acceptors is investigated using multiscale computational modelling. Quantum chemical analysis is used to study the electronic behavior. Nitrogen substitution at end-capping has significantly decreased the electron-reorganization energy. No big change is observed in transfer integral and excited state behavior. However, nitrogen substitution at terminal group position is good way to improve electron-mobility. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of newly designed acceptors is predicted using machine learning. Molecular dynamics simulations are also performed to explore the dynamics of acceptor and their blends with PBDB-T polymer donor. Florgy-Huggins parameter is calculated to study the mixing of designed small molecule acceptors with PBDB-T. Radial distribution function has indicated that PBDB-T has a closer packing with N3 and N4. From all analysis, it is found that nitrogen substitution at end-capping group is a better strategy to design efficient small molecule acceptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asif Mahmood
- Department Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
| | - Ahmad Irfan
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jin-Liang Wang
- Department Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
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