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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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Huang LH, Hua CC. Predictive Mesoscale Simulation of Flow-Induced Blend Morphology, Interfacial Relaxation, and Linear Viscoelasticity of Polymer–Elastomer Blends. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Hua Huang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Chung Hua
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102, Taiwan
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3
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Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires. JOURNAL OF COMPOSITES SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/jcs5080199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The sol–gel transition of conductive nanocomposites consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and ZnO nanowires in o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) has been investigated rheologically. The physical gelation of P3HT in o-DCB spontaneously occurs upon adding the small amount of ZnO nanowires. The rheological properties of the P3HT/ZnO nanocomposite gels have been systematically studied by varying factors such as polymer concentration, nanowire loading, and temperature. The nanocomposite gel exhibits shear-thinning in the low shear rate range and shear-thickening in the high shear rate range. The elastic storage modulus of the nanocomposite gel gradually increases with gelation time and is consistently independent of frequency at all investigated ranges. The isothermal gelation kinetics has been analyzed by monitoring the storage modulus with gelation time, and the data are well fitted with a first-order rate law. The structural analysis data reveal that the polymer forms the crystalline layer coated on ZnO nanowires. A fringed micelle model is proposed to explain the possible gelation mechanism.
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Tang S, Ye X, Gao Y, Xu R, Luo L, Liu X. Protic acid-induced LCST rigid-chain polymeric gel with enhanced blue emission via weakened conjugation effect. Eur Polym J 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2021.110333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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5
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Kim JY. Order–Disorder Phase Equilibria of Regioregular Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) Solution. Macromolecules 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jung Yong Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
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Brownian orientational lath model (BOLD): A computational model relating the self-assembly in a fluid of lath like particles with its rheology and gelation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191785. [PMID: 29414981 PMCID: PMC5802906 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
By means of a computational model, we study the relation between two complementary views of gelation, rheological tests against the characterization of a network of consecutive particles. The model we propose consists of slender, plane, colloidal sized particles, which we name laths, which self-assemble into long ordered aggregates of several particles; called whiskers in the literature. Within a whisker, the interaction potential is a minimum when: the planes of two consecutive laths are aligned, thus favoring their alignment; when the center of three consecutive laths lie in a straight line, thus favoring stacking; and when the center of two consecutive laths are located at a certain distance, which mimics excluded volume. A threshold value of the potential gives a condition for sticking free laths into whiskers, and for the breaking of whiskers. The simplicity of the model allows the simulation to reach large enough times, of the order of minutes, needed to simulate numerical rheology tests. We are able to characterize the whisker formation, as well as to simulate the gel transition, by means of an oscillatory shear numerical experiment. We conclude that according to the usual rheological definition a gel transition occurs at about 250K, even though there is no branching and less than 10% of whiskers are long enough as to percolate the system.
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Wang CI, Hsu CH, Hua CC. The correspondence between the conformational and chromophoric properties of amorphous conjugated polymers in mesoscale condensed systems. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:20818-20828. [PMID: 28744545 DOI: 10.1039/c7cp03415f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
For π-conjugated polymers, the notion of spectroscopic units or "chromophores" provides illuminating insights into the experimentally observed absorption/emission spectra and the mechanisms of energy/charge transfer. To date, however, no statistical analysis has revealed a direct correspondence between chromophoric and conformational properties-with the latter being fundamental to polymer semiconductors. Herein, we propose a "persistence length" calculation to re-evaluate chain conformation over a full conjugation length. The mesoscale condensed systems of MEH-PPV and MEH-PPV/C60 hybrid (system size ∼10 × 10 × 10 nm3) are utilized as two prototypical model systems, along with a full range of segmental lengths (2-20-mer) and five lowest singlet excited states to hint at the generality of the features presented. We demonstrate, for the first time, that two properly re-defined conformational factors that characterize chain folding and planarity, respectively, capture excellently the population distribution of chromophores in both systems investigated. In contrast, the conventional strategy of utilizing two adjacent monomer units to characterize (local) chain conformation results in only an inconspicuous correlation between the two, as previously reported. It is further shown that chain folding-and not chain planarity-is more relevant in capturing the associated oscillator strength for the first excited state, where the transient dipole moments are known to align with the chain conformation, although the corresponding excitation energy and exciton size seem relatively unaffected. The observed effects of C60 on the MEH-PPV adsorption spectra also agree with recent experimental trends. Overall, the present findings are expected to aid future multiscale computer simulations and spectroscopy-data interpretations for polymer semiconductors and their hybrid systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun I Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chia-Yi 62102, Taiwan, Republic of China.
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Bai W, Wu C, Shang X, Liu X, Chen K, Lin J. Self-assembly of poly(p-phenylene)-based flower-like 3D micro-nanostructures. REACT FUNCT POLYM 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2016.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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9
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Unger T, Panzer F, Consani C, Koch F, Brixner T, Bässler H, Köhler A. Ultrafast Energy Transfer between Disordered and Highly Planarized Chains of Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV). ACS Macro Lett 2015; 4:412-416. [PMID: 35596330 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Upon cooling a solution of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), a phase transition occurs, leading to the formation of aggregates. We have studied the dynamics of singlet excitons in MEH-PPV solution below the critical temperature of the phase transition using steady-state photoluminescence measurements and pump-probe fs-spectroscopy at different temperatures. Spectral analysis indicates the coexistence of disordered chromophores with highly planarized chromophores. The high planarity is evidenced by a remarkably high 0-0/0-1 peak ratio in the spectra. By spectrally separating the contributions of either type of chromophore to the pump-probe signal we find that energy transfer takes place within less than 1 ps from disordered, unaggregated chain segments to highly planarized, aggregated chain segments. The short time scale of the energy transfer indicates intimate intermixing of the planarized and disordered polymeric chromophores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Unger
- Experimental
Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95540 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth
Institute of Macromolecular Research (BIMF), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Fabian Panzer
- Experimental
Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95540 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth
Institute of Macromolecular Research (BIMF), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Heinz Bässler
- Bayreuth
Institute of Macromolecular Research (BIMF), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Anna Köhler
- Experimental
Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95540 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth
Institute of Macromolecular Research (BIMF), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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Guo RH, Hsu CH, Hua CC, Chen SA. Colloidal aggregate and gel incubated by amorphous conjugated polymer in hybrid-solvent medium. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:3320-31. [PMID: 25607342 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b00575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A practical valuable amorphous conjugated polymer, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene (MEH-PPV), has been revealed to foster an abundance of micrometer-sized colloidal aggregates at relatively low concentration (below 1 wt %) in a hybrid-solvent medium that contains a nonsolvent, and the solution turned into gel by colloidal bridging after one-day aging at 30 °C. In contrast with typical polymer gels fostered by (anisotropic) chain cross-linking or planar packing on selective interacting sites, the MEH-PPV gel has been revealed (via dynamic light scattering, small-angle light scattering, time-sweep dynamic modulus and optical microscope) to first develop featureless aggregate clusters in solution and, as the solvent quality worsens with reduced system temperature, bridge themselves to form gel through a one-dimensional (1-D) to three-dimensional (3-D) kinetic pathway. Combined dynamic/static light scattering analyses, along with supporting scanning electron microscope image and molecular dynamics simulation, indicated a concomitant structural reorganization within the colloidal aggregates, where spontaneous chain packing was perceived to form local fiber-like materials that are elastic by nature (i.e., a q-independent decay rate). The near coincidence of the above-mentioned microscopic and macroscopic phase alterations led us to contend that similar fibrous materials have served as the exterior bridging agent to fabricate colloidal strands upon gelation. The present findings clarify previously enigmatic, much speculative, gelation phenomena of MEH-PPV, and shed light on the prospect of capitalizing on specific polymer-solvent interactions to incubate desirable colloidal aggregates and gels in room-temperature processing of practical valuable conjugated polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong H Guo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University , Chiayi 621, Taiwan, Republic of China
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Kipp D, Ganesan V. Influence of Block Copolymer Compatibilizers on the Morphologies of Semiflexible Polymer/Solvent Blends. J Phys Chem B 2014; 118:4425-41. [DOI: 10.1021/jp501207y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Kipp
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Venkat Ganesan
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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12
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Jankowski E, Marsh HS, Jayaraman A. Computationally Linking Molecular Features of Conjugated Polymers and Fullerene Derivatives to Bulk Heterojunction Morphology. Macromolecules 2013. [DOI: 10.1021/ma400724e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Eric Jankowski
- Department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering,
UCB 596, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Hilary S. Marsh
- Department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering,
UCB 596, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Arthi Jayaraman
- Department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering,
UCB 596, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado 80309, United States
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13
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Wang CI, Hsu CH, Hua CC, Chen SA. Molecular dynamics study of pair interactions, interfacial microstructure, and nanomorphology of C60/MEH-PPV hybrids. JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10965-013-0188-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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