Interaction of Metal Porphyrins with Fullerene C60: A New Insight

Tailoring Light-Harvesting in Zn-Porphyrin and Carbon Fullerene based Donor-Acceptor Complex through Ethynyl-Extended Donor π-Conjugation

Organic photovoltaic efficiency though currently limited for practical applications, can be improved by means of various molecular-level modifications. Herein the role of extended donor π ${\pi }$ -conjugation through ethynyl-bridged meso-phenyl/pyridyl on the photoinduced charge-transfer kinetics is studied in noncovalently bound Zn-Porphyrin and carbon-fullerene based donor-acceptor complex using time-dependent optimally tuned range-separated hybrid combined with the kinetic rate theory in polar solvent. Noncovalent dispersive interaction is identified to primarily govern the complex stability. Ethynyl-extended π ${\pi }$ -conjugation results in red-shifted donor-localized Q-band with substantially increased dipole oscillator strength and smaller exciton binding energy, suggesting greater light-harvesting efficiency. However, the low-lying charge-transfer state below to the Q-band is relatively less affected by the ethynyl-extended π ${\pi }$ -conjugation, yielding reduced driving forces for the charge-transfer. Detailed kinetics analysis reveals similar order of charge-transfer rate constants (~1012 s-1) for all donor-acceptor composites studied. Importantly, enhanced light-absorption, smaller exciton binding energy and similar charge-transfer rates together with reduced charge-recombination make these complexes suitable for efficient photoinduced charge-separation. These findings will be helpful to molecularly design the advanced organic donor-acceptor blends for energy efficient photovoltaic applications.

A Paradigm Shift from 2D to 3D: Surface Supramolecular Assemblies and Their Electronic Properties Explored by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Exploring supramolecular architectures at surfaces plays an increasingly important role in contemporary science, especially for molecular electronics. A paradigm of research interest in this context is shifting from 2D to 3D that is expanding from monolayer, bilayers, to multilayers. Taking advantage of its high-resolution insight into monolayers and a few layers, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) turns out a powerful tool for analyzing such thin films on a solid surface. This review summarizes the representative efforts of STM/STS studies of layered supramolecular assemblies and their unique electronic properties, especially at the liquid-solid interface. The superiority of the 3D molecular networks at surfaces is elucidated and an outlook on the challenges that still lie ahead is provided. This review not only highlights the profound progress in 3D supramolecular assemblies but also provides researchers with unusual concepts to design surface supramolecular structures with increasing complexity and desired functionality.

Molecular-scale engineering of the charge-transfer excited states in non-covalently bound Zn–porphyrin and carbon fullerene based donor–acceptor complex

Tailoring charge-transfer through selective pyrrole ring hydrogenation in a novel Zn–porphyrin and PCBM based donor–acceptor complex has been investigated using quantum chemical computations.

DFT/TD-semiempirical study on the structural and electronic properties and absorption spectra of supramolecular fullerene-porphyrine-metalloporphyrine triads based dye-sensitized solar cells

In the present work density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent semiempirical ZNIDO/S (TD-ZNIDO/S) methods have been used to investigate the ground state geometries, electronic structures and excited state properties of triad systems. The influences of the type of metal in the porphyrin ring, change in bridge position and porphyrine-ZnP duplicate on the energies of frontier molecular orbital and UV-Vis spectra has been studied. Geometry optimization, the energy levels and electron density of the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO), chemical hardness (η), electrophilicity index (ω), electron accepting power (ω⁺) were calculated using ZINDO/S method to predict which molecule is the most efficient with a great capability to be used as a triad molecule in solar industry. Moreover the light harvesting efficiency (LHE) was calculated by means of the oscillator strengths which are obtained by TD-ZINDO/S calculation. Theoretical studies of the electronic spectra by ZINDO/S method were helpful in interpreting the observed electronic transitions. This aspect was systematically explored in a series of C₆₀-Porphyrine-Metalloporphyrine (C₆₀-P-Mp) triad system with M being Fe, Co, Ni, Ti, and Zn. Generally, transition metal coordination compounds are used as effective sensitizers, due to their intense charge-transfer absorption over the whole visible range and highly efficient metal-to-ligand charge transfer. We aim to optimize the performance of the title solar cells by altering the frontier orbital energy gaps. The results reveal that cell efficiency can be enhanced by metal functionalization of the free base porphyrin. Ti-porphyrin was found to be the most efficient dye sensitizer for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on C₆₀-P-Mptriad system due to C₆₀-Por-TiP complex has lower chemical hardness, gap energy and chemical potential as well as higher electron accepting power among other complexes. In addition, the performance of solar cells favors better with doubly and increasing the π conjugated of the bridge.

Solid-state inclusion of C60 and C70 in a co-polymer induced by metal–ligand coordination of a Zn–porphyrin cage with a bis-pyridyl perylene derivative

We have conducted X-ray characterization of two unprecedented supramolecular solids involving three different components: a suitable Zn(ii)–bisporphyrin cage, a bis-pyridyl perylene derivative and a fullerene.

Photocurrent in Multilayered Assemblies of Porphyrin-Fullerene Covalent Dyads: Evidence for Channels for Charge Transport

Specially designed porphyrin-fullerene dyads have been synthesized to verify literature predictions based on quantum chemistry calculations that certain porphyrin-fullerene dyads are able to self-arrange into specific structures providing channels for charge transport in a bulk mass of organic compound. According to AFM and SEM data, the newly synthesized compounds were indeed prone to some kind of self-arrangement, although to a lesser degree than was expected. A dispersion corrected DFT study of the molecular non-covalent interactions performed at the DFT-D3 (B3LYP, 6-31G*) level of theory showed that the least energy corresponded to head-to-head dimers, with close contacts of porphyrin-porphyrin and fullerene-fullerene fragments, thus providing a unit building block of the channel for charge transport. Experimental proof for the existence of channels for charge transport was obtained by observing a photocurrent in a simple photovoltaic cell.

Porphyrin-fullerene, C60, cocrystallates: influence of C60 on the porphyrin ring conformation

To examine the influence of fullerene on the macrocyclic ring conformation, crystal structures of a series of cocrystals of 2,3,5,10,12,13,15,20-octaphenylporphyrin, M(TPP)(Ph)(4) (M = 2H, Co(II), Cu(II)), and 2,312,13-tetramethyl-5,7,8,10,15,17,18,20-octaphenyl-porphinato copper(II), CuTPP(Ph)(4)(CH(3))(4), derivatives with fullerene, C(60), were elucidated. Furthermore, crystal structures of the parent porphyrins, M(TPP)(Ph)(4) (M = Co(II), Cu(II)) complexes, were also determined. All the cocrystals revealed one-to-one stoichiometry between the porphyrin and C(60) and were free of lattice solvates. Porphyrin rings in M(TPP)(Ph)(4)·C(60) cocrystals revealed significant distortion with the root-mean-square (rms) value as high as 0.265(2) A which is the average deviation of the 24 atoms core from the least-squares plane. Crystal structures of the parent M(TPP)(Ph)(4) (M = Co(II), Cu(II)) complexes indicated near planarity of the 24-atom core with the root-mean-square deviation value of 0.016(2) A. Molecular packing in the M(TPP)(Ph)(4)·C(60) cocrystals showed essentially one-dimensional chains interconnected by weak interporphyrin and porphyrin-fullerene close contacts. The N(porphyrin)···C(C(60)) shortest distances between the H(2)(TPP)(Ph)(4) (M = 2H, Co(II), Cu(II)) and fullerene in the cocrystals are 3.031(5) A, 3.062(4) A, and 3.059(3) A, respectively. Similarly, close contact M···C distances in the M(TPP)(Ph)(4)·C(60) (M = Co(II), Cu(II)) are 2.761(6) A and 2.886(3) A, respectively. In the Cu(TPP)(Ph)(4)(CH(3))(4)·C(60) cocrystal, the shift of macrocyclic ring toward planarity was evidenced from the rms value of 0.236(2) A relative to that observed in CuTPP(Ph)(4)(CH(3))(4)·CHCl(3) (0.391(2) A). The distortion of the macrocyclic ring in M(TPP)(Ph)(4)·C(60) complexes was examined by normal-coordinate-structure decomposition (NSD) analyses. Their out-of-plane displacement of the core atoms revealed predominant contribution being saddle (∼95-96%) and gentle domed distortions (3-4%). In the case of M(TPP)(Ph)(4)(CH(3))(4)·C(60) cocrystal, it showed mainly saddled (∼83%), minimal ruffled (8%) and domed (8%) distortions of the macrocyclic ring. In-plane displacement on the 24-atom core of the porphyrin in these cocrystallates features generally a varying degree of N-str (B(1g)) and bre (A(1g)) distortions.

Electronic structures of bis- and monothiophene complexes with Fe, Co, Ni: a density functional theory study

A density functional theory study for the bis- and monothiophene complexes of Fe, Co, and Ni (MT2 and MT, T = thiophene, M = Fe, Co, Ni) was performed to understand their coordination geometries, bonding properties, vibration spectra and singlet excited state spectra. The typical metal coordination exists in the complexes. The Fe-thiophene coordination has the highest stability, with Ni-thiophene being the second highest, and Co-thiophene the lowest. Bisthiophene complexes of Co and Ni prefer to homolytically dissociate to their monothiophene ones and free thiophene. Frequency calculation shows that the ligand-M-ligand asymmetric stretching vibration in bisthiophene complexes shows a strong absorption, at 435.2, 495.7, and 383 cm(-1) for Fe(eta4-T)2, Co(eta2-T)2 and Ni(eta2-T)2, respectively. The M-S stretching vibration in monothiophene complexes shows a strong absorption in the far-infrared region, at 209, 156, and 150 cm(-1) for Fe(eta4-T), Co(eta4-T) and Ni(eta5-T), respectively. The excited state spectra indicate that the characteristic absorption wavelengths of the complexes have a red shift of more than 12.40 eV compared to free thiophene, at 3.54, 1.64, 3.83, 2.75, 1.43, and 2.58 eV for Fe(eta4-T)2, Co(eta2-T)2, Ni(eta2-T)2, Fe(eta4-T), Co(eta4-T), and Ni(eta5-T), respectively.