Synergetic Modulation of Steric Hindrance and Excited State for Anti-Quenching and Fast Spin-Flip Multi-Resonance Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorophore

Multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) materials hold great promise for advanced high-resolution organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. However, persistent challenges, such as severe aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and slow spin-flip, hinder their optimal performance. We propose a synergetic steric-hindrance and excited-state modulation strategy for MR-TADF emitters, which is demonstrated by two blue MR-TADF emitters, IDAD-BNCz and TIDAD-BNCz, bearing sterically demanding 8,8-diphenyl-8H-indolo[3,2,1-de]acridine (IDAD) and 3,6-di-tert-butyl-8,8-diphenyl-8H-indolo[3,2,1-de]acridine (TIDAD), respectively. These rigid and bulky IDAD/TIDAD moieties, with appropriate electron-donating capabilities, not only effectively mitigate ACQ, ensuring efficient luminescence across a broad range of dopant concentrations, but also induce high-lying charge-transfer excited states that facilitate triplet-to-singlet spin-flip without causing undesired emission redshift or spectral broadening. Consequently, implementation of a high doping level of IDAD-BNCz resulted in highly efficient narrowband electroluminescence, featuring a remarkable full-width at half-maximum of 34 nm and record-setting external quantum efficiencies of 34.3 % and 31.8 % at maximum and 100 cd m-2, respectively. The combined steric and electronic effects arising from the steric-hindered donor introduction offer a compelling molecular design strategy to overcome critical challenges in MR-TADF emitters.

Pressure-Tuned Multicolor Emission of 2D Lead Halide Perovskites with Ultrahigh Color Purity

The chemical diversity and structural flexibility of lead halide perovskites (LHPs) offer tremendous opportunities to tune their optical properties through internal molecular engineering and external stimuli. Herein, we report the wide-range and ultrapure photoluminescence emissions in a family of homologous 2D LHPs, [MeOPEA]₂ PbBr_4-4x I_4x (MeOPEA=4-methoxyphenethylammonium; x=0, 0.2, 0.425, 0.575, 1) enabled through internal chemical pressure and external hydrostatic pressure. The chemical pressure, induced by the C-H⋅⋅⋅π interactions and halogen doping/substitution strengthens the structural rigidity to give sustained narrow emissions, and regulates the emission energy, respectively. Further manipulation of physical pressure leads to wide-range emission tuning from 412 to 647 nm in a continuous and reversible manner. This work could open up new pathways for developing 2D LHP emitters with ultra-wide color gamut and high color purity which are highly useful for pressure sensing.

Development of Thiochroman Dioxide Analogues of Benzothiadiazine Dioxides as New Positive Allosteric Modulators of α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid (AMPA) Receptors

On the basis of the activity of 1,2,4-benzothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides as positive allosteric modulators of AMPA receptors, thiochroman 1,1-dioxides were designed applying the isosteric replacement concept. The new compounds expressed strong modulatory activity on AMPA receptors in vitro, although lower than their corresponding benzothiadiazine analogues. The pharmacokinetic profile of three thiochroman 1,1-dioxides (12a, 12b, 12e) was examined in vivo after oral administration, showing that these compounds freely cross the blood-brain barrier. Structural analysis was achieved using X-ray crystallography after cocrystallization of the racemic compound 12b in complex with the ligand-binding domain of GluA2 (L504Y/N775S). Interestingly, both enantiomers of 12b were found to interact with the GluA2 dimer interface, almost identically to its benzothiadiazine analogue, BPAM344 (4). The interactions of the two enantiomers in the cocrystal were further analyzed (mapping Hirshfeld surfaces and 2D fingerprint) and compared to those of 4. Taken together, these data explain the lower affinity on AMPA receptors of thiochroman 1,1-dioxides compared to their corresponding 1,2,4-benzothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides.

Nonlinear optical properties of diaromatic stilbene, butadiene and thiophene derivatives

Stilbene and butadiene derivatives display NLO activity with SHG intensities up to 32 times to that of urea for 2-chloro-3,4-dimethoxy-4′-nitrostilbene.

Organic Broadband THz Generators Optimized for Efficient Near-Infrared Optical Pumping

New organic THz generators are designed herein by molecular engineering of the refractive index, phonon mode, and spatial asymmetry. These benzothiazolium crystals simultaneously satisfy the crucial requirements for efficient THz wave generation, including having nonlinear optical chromophores with parallel alignment that provide large optical nonlinearity; good phase matching for enhancing the THz generation efficiency in the near-infrared region; strong intermolecular interactions that provide restraining THz self-absorption; high solubility that promotes good crystal growth ability; and a plate-like crystal morphology with excellent optical quality. Consequently, the as-grown benzothiazolium crystals exhibit excellent characteristics for THz wave generation, particularly at near-infrared pump wavelengths around 1100 nm, which is very promising given the availability of femtosecond laser sources at this wavelength, where current conventional THz generators deliver relatively low optical-to-THz conversion efficiencies. Compared to a 1.0-mm-thick ZnTe crystal as an inorganic benchmark, the 0.28-mm-thick benzothiazolium crystal yields a 19 times higher peak-to-peak THz electric field with a broader spectral bandwidth (>6.5 THz) when pumped at 1140 nm. The present work provides a valuable approach toward realizing organic crystals that can be pumped by near-infrared sources for efficient THz wave generation.

Polymorphism of the dinuclear CoIII-Schiff base complex [Co2(o-van-en)3]·4CH3CN (o-van-en is a salen-type ligand)

Reactions of Co(OH)2 with the Schiff base bis(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)ethylenediamine, denoted H2(o-van-en), under different conditions yielded the previously reported complex aqua[bis(3-methoxy-2-oxidobenzylidene)ethylenediamine]cobalt(II), [Co(C18H18N2O4)(H2O)], 1, under anaerobic conditions and two polymorphs of [μ-bis(3-methoxy-2-oxidobenzylidene)ethylenediamine]bis{[bis(3-methoxy-2-oxidobenzylidene)ethylenediamine]cobalt(III)} acetonitrile tetrasolvate, [Co2(C18H18N2O4)3]·4CH3CN, i.e. monoclinic 2 and triclinic 3, in the presence of air. Both novel polymorphs were chemically and spectroscopically characterized. Their crystal structures are built up of centrosymmetric dinuclear [Co2(o-van-en)3] complex molecules, in which each CoIII atom is coordinated by one tetradentate dianionic o-van-en ligand in an uncommon bent fashion. The pseudo-octahedral coordination of the CoIII atom is completed by one phenolate O and one amidic N atom of the same arm of the bridging o-van-en ligand. In addition, the asymmetric units of both polymorphs contain two acetonitrile solvent molecules. The polymorphs differ in the packing orders of the dinuclear [Co2(o-van-en)3] complex molecules, i.e. alternating ABABAB in 2 and AAA in 3. In addition, differences in the conformations, the positions of the acetonitrile solvent molecules and the pattern of intermolecular interactions were observed. Hirshfeld surface analysis permits a qualitative inspection of the differences in the intermolecular space in the two polymorphs. A knowledge-based study employing Full Interaction Maps was used to elucidate possible reasons for the polymorphism.

Is it Reasonable to Obtain Information on the Polarizability and Hyperpolarizability Only from the Electron Density?

Formulae for the static electronic polarizability and hyperpolarizability are derived in terms of moments of the ground-state electron density matrix by applying the Unsöld approximation and a generalization of the Fermi-Amaldi approximation. The latter formula for the hyperpolarizability appears to be new. The formulae manifestly transform correctly under rotations, and they are observed to be essentially cumulant expressions. Consequently, they are additive over different regions. The properties of the formula are discussed in relation to others that have been proposed in order to clarify inconsistencies. The formulae are then tested against coupled-perturbed Hartree-Fock results for a set of 40 donor-π-acceptor systems. For the polarizability, the correlation is reasonable; therefore, electron density matrix moments from theory or experiment may be used to predict polarizabilities. By constrast, the results for the hyperpolarizabilities are poor, not even within one or two orders of magnitude. The formula for the two- and three-particle density matrices obtained as a side result in this work may be interesting for density functional theories.

Combined analysis of chemical bonding in a CuIIdimer using QTAIM, Voronoi tessellation and Hirshfeld surface approaches

Interaction of 1-(1H-pyrazol-5-yl)ethanone oxime (H2PzOx) with copper(II) chloride in the presence of pyridine afforded a binuclear discrete [Cu2(HPzOx)2Cl2py2] complex, which was characterized by Fourier transform–IR and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, magnetochemistry and high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments. Multipole refinement of X-ray diffraction data and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations of an isolated molecule allowed charge and spin distributions to be obtained for this compound. Magnetochemistry data, EPR spectra and DFT calculations of an isolated molecule show antiferromagnetic coupling between copper(II) ions. The spin distribution suggests an exchange pathwayviathe bridging pyrazole ring in the equatorial plane of the CuN4Cl coordination polyhedron, thus providing support for the classical superexchange mechanism; the calculated value of the magnetic coupling constant −2Jis equal to 220 cm−1, which compares well with the experimental value of 203 ± 2 cm−1. Chemical connectivity was derived by Bader's `quantum theory of atoms in molecules' and compared with Voronoi tessellation and Hirshfeld surface representations of crystal space. All methodologies gave a similar qualitative and semi-quantitative description of intra- and intermolecular connectivity.

Self-assembled organic hexagonal micro-prisms with high second harmonic generation efficiency for photonic devices

Multiwavelength coherent light sources are key components for circuit integration of nanophotonics. Here, we demonstrated highly efficient second harmonic generation (SHG) in single-crystalline hexagonal micro-prisms (HMPs) of 3-methyl-4-methoxy-4'-nitrostilbene (MMONS) prepared via a facile self-assembled method. We found that the SHG conversion efficiency (ηSHG) of MMONS HMPs increases with increasing the prism side length (d). Local electric field |E|(2) calculations suggest that the symmetrical hexagonal prism shape of HMPs supports helically propagating modes. The SHG light produced at one end of HMP can be coupled into whispering-gallery (WG) like optical modes with a coupling efficiency of 50-80% and helically propagates along the length of HMPs toward another end. Based on this unique helical propagation of SHG light, we construct an optical interconnector by placing a single MMONS HMP on the top of a single micro-ribbon of 1,2-diphenyl-2-pyrazoline (DP). These easily fabricated MMONS HMPs can act as a coherent source, which adds a key component to the tool box of organic nano- and micro-structure optoelectronics.

Synthesis and characterization of bis (acetylacetonato κ-O, O′) [zinc(ii)/copper(ii)] hybrid organic–inorganic complexes as solid metal organic precursors

We have synthesized novel metal organic hybrid mixed compounds of bis (acetylacetonato κ-O, O′) [zinc(ii)/copper(ii)].

Chiral crystals from an achiral molecule: 4,6-di-O-benzyl-1,3-O-benzylidene-2-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-myo-5-inosose

The title achiral compound, C(35)H(34)O(7), crystallizes in the chiral monoclinic space group P2(1). The molecules are densely packed to form a helical assembly along the crystallographic twofold screw axis via C-H···O and C-H···π interactions. Interestingly, the unit-translated helical chains are loosely connected via a rather uncommon edge-to-edge Ph-H···H-Ph short contact (H···H = 2.33 Å).

Dynamic disorder in the crystal structure of an organic semiconductor: an unusual phase transition involving the heat capacity

(E,E)-1-[2-(4-Nitrophenyl)ethenyl]-4-[2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethenyl]benzene was characterised by X-ray diffraction and shown to be dynamically disordered at room temperature. The structure was re-determined over a range of temperatures to infer the thermodynamic parameters related to this disorder. A phase transition of third order according to the Ehrenfest classification scheme was discovered. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimentally observed phase transition of formal third order. It can be explained by the involvement of long-range lattice vibrations.

Structural analysis and multipole modelling of quercetin monohydrate – a quantitative and comparative study

The multipolar atom model, constructed by transferring the charge-density parameters from an experimental or theoretical database, is considered to be an easy replacement of the widely used independent atom model. The present study on a new crystal structure of quercetin monohydrate [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one monohydrate], a plant flavonoid, determined by X-ray diffraction, demonstrates that the transferred multipolar atom model approach greatly improves several factors: the accuracy of atomic positions and the magnitudes of atomic displacement parameters, the residual electron densities and the crystallographic figures of merit. The charge-density features, topological analysis and electrostatic interaction energies obtained from the multipole models based on experimental database transfer and periodic quantum mechanical calculations are found to compare well. This quantitative and comparative study shows that in the absence of high-resolution diffraction data, the database transfer approach can be applied to the multipolar electron density features very accurately.