Structural and ultrafast third-order nonlinearities of methyl and methoxy substituted anthracene chalcones: Z-scan, four-wave mixing, and DFT approaches

We report on the structural, thermal, linear, and ultrafast third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of two novel anthracene chalcones: (2E)-1-(anthracen-9-yl)-3-(5-methylthiophen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (5ML2SANC) and (2E)-1-(9-anthryl)-3-(2,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (245TMANC). The chalcones were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction, and the single crystals were grown by the solvent evaporation method. The molecular structure was confirmed by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, while the crystal structure was determined using the single crystal XRD. Both crystals belong to centrosymmetric monoclinic crystal system with space group P21/n. The Hirshfeld surface was analyzed to understand intermolecular interactions, and the band structures - including HOMO-LUMO levels, excited state energies, GCRDs and MEPs-were studied using DFT. The ultrafast third-order NLO properties were investigated by Z-scan and degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) techniques using Ti: Sapphire amplifier laser delivering ∼50 fs pulses at 800 nm (1 kHz, ∼4 mJ, 2 W). Two-photon absorption, positive nonlinear refraction, optical limiting and optical switching behaviors were observed by Z-scan measurements. The time-resolved DFWM show that the decay time of 5ML2SANC is ∼127 fs, while for 245TMANC it is ∼142 fs. The second hyperpolarizability (γ) measured by Z-scan, DFWM and the estimations from the DFT theory are found to be in good agreement (∼10-34 esu). The ultrafast optical response, significant NLO properties and thermal stability of the synthesized chalcones demonstrate their potential suitability in optical limiting and switching applications.

Effect of Thiophene Insertion on X-Shaped Anthracene-Based Hole-Transporting Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

In this work, two novel tetra-substituted X-shaped molecules X1 and X2 that were constructed with anthracene as the central core and arylamine as the donor groups have been synthesized. The HTMs X1 and X2 were synthesized in two steps from industrially accessible and moderately reasonable beginning reagents. These new HTMs are described in terms of utilization of light absorption, energy level, thermal properties, hole mobility (µ_h), and film-forming property. The photovoltaic performances of these HTMs were effectively assessed in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The devices based on these HTMs accomplished an overall efficiency of 16.10% for X1 and 10.25% for X2 under standard conditions (AM 1.5 G and 100 mW cm⁻²). This precise investigation provides another perspective on the use of HTMs in PSCs with various device configurations.

Ultrafast Nonlinear Optical and Structure-Property Relationship Studies of Pyridine-Based Anthracene Chalcones Using Z-Scan, Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing, and Computational Approaches

The structural, thermal, linear, and femtosecond third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of two pyridine-based anthracene chalcones, (2E)-1-(anthracen-9-yl)-3-(pyridin-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (2PANC) and (2E)-1-(anthracen-9-yl)-3-(pyridin-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (3PANC), were investigated. These two chalcones were synthesized following the Claisen-Schmidt condensation method. Optically transparent single crystals were achieved using a slow evaporation solution growth technique. The presence of functional groups in these molecules was established by Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopic data. The detailed solid-state structure of both chalcones was determined from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Both crystals crystallized in the centrosymmetric triclinic space group P1̅ with the nuance of unit cell parameters. The crystals (labeled as 2PANC and 3PANC) have been found to be transparent optically [in the entire visible spectral region] and were found to be thermally stable up to 169 and 194 °C, respectively. The intermolecular interactions were investigated using the Hirshfeld surface analysis, and the band structures (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, excited-state energies, global chemical reactivity descriptors, and molecular electrostatic potentials) were studied using density functional theory (DFT) techniques. The ultrafast third-order NLO properties were investigated using (a) Z-scan and (b) degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) techniques using ∼50 fs pulses at 800 nm (1 kHz, ∼4 mJ) from a Ti:sapphire laser amplifier. Two-photon-assisted reverse saturable absorption, self-focusing nonlinear refraction, optical limiting, and optical switching behaviors were witnessed from the Z-scan data. 3PANC demonstrated a stronger two-photon absorption coefficient, while 2PANC depicted a stronger nonlinear refractive index among the two. The time-resolved DFWM data demonstrated that the decay times of 2PANC and 3PANC were ∼162 and ∼180 fs, respectively. The second hyperpolarizability (γ) values determined by DFT, Z-scan, and DFWM were found to be in good correlation (with a magnitude of ∼10^-34 esu). The ultrafast third-order NLO response, significant NLO properties, and thermal stability of these chalcones brands them as potential candidates for optical power limiting and switching applications.

Characteristics of Low Band Gap Copolymers Containing Anthracene-Benzothiadiazole Dicarboxylic Imide: Synthesis, Optical, Electrochemical, Thermal and Structural Studies

Two novel low band gap donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers, poly[9,10-bis(4-(dodecyloxy)phenyl)-2,6-anthracene-alt-5,5-(4',7'-bis(2-thienyl)-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole-N-5,6-(3,7-dimethyloctyl)dicarboxylic imide)] (PPADTBTDI-DMO) and poly[9,10-bis(4-(dodecyloxy)phenyl)-2,6-anthracene-alt-5,5-(4',7'-bis(2-thienyl)-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole-5,6-N-octyl-dicarboxylic imide)] (PPADTBTDI-8) were synthesized in the present work by copolymerising the bis-boronate ester of 9,10-phenylsubstituted anthracene flanked by thienyl groups as electron-donor units with benzothiadiazole dicarboxylic imide (BTDI) as electron-acceptor units. Both polymers were synthesized in good yields via Suzuki polymerisation. Two different solubilizing alkyl chains were anchored to the BTDI units in order to investigate the impact upon their solubilities, molecular weights, optical and electrochemical properties, structural properties and thermal stability of the resulting polymers. Both polymers have comparable molecular weights and have a low optical band gap (Eg) of 1.66 eV. The polymers have low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels of about -5.5 eV as well as the similar lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of -3.56 eV. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of PPADTBTDI-DMO and PPADTBTDI-8 did not prove instability with decomposition temperatures at 354 and 313 °C, respectively. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies have shown that both polymers have an amorphous nature in the solid state, which could be used as electrolytes in optoelectronic devices.

Highly red-shifted NIR emission from a novel anthracene conjugated polymer backbone containing Pt(ii) porphyrins

We present the synthesis of a novel diphenylanthracene (DPA) based semiconducting polymer.

Triisopropylsilylacetylene-functionalised anthracene-alt-benzothiadiazole copolymers for application in bulk heterojunction solar cells

Triisopropylsilylacetylene-functionalised anthracene-based donor–acceptor polymers are presented along with their optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties in bulk heterojunction solar cells.

A low band-gap copolymer composed of thienyl substituted anthracene and diketopyrrolopyrrole compatible with multiple electron acceptors for high efficiency polymer solar cells

A low band-gap polymer composed of thienylanthracene and DPP exhibits promising PCEs of 7.02% with PC₇₁BM, and 4.23% with non-fullerene acceptor di-PBI, demonstrating the potential for universal electron donor polymer of polymer solar cells.

Effect of chain curvature on the performance of diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cells

Two polymer semiconductors with different degrees of chain curvature are designed and synthesized. The curved polymer blended with PC₇₁BM exhibits a higher PCE of 5.3% than that of a linear polymer.

Use of surface plasmons for manipulation of organic molecule quasiparticles and optical properties

Our recently proposed theoretical formulation based on Bethe–Salpeter G(0)W(0) methodology is applied here to explore the quasiparticle and optical spectra of anthracene (C(14)H10) placed close to a metallic surface. Special attention is paid to explore how the energy shift and decay width of the low-lying anthracene bright excitons p, α and β depend on the type of the adjacent surface (described by the Wigner Seits radius r(s)) and the separation from the surface. It is shown that p and α excitons weakly interact with surface excitations, but for r(s) ≈ 3 the intensive β exciton hybridizes with surface plasmon considerably, resulting in its splitting into two optically active modes. The β exciton decays extraordinarily fast (Γ ≈ 200 meV) to the electron-hole excitations in the metallic surface even for non-contact separations (z(0) ≈ 12 a.u.). For r(s) > 5 the β exciton becomes infinitely sharp (Γ ≈ 0) and no longer interacts with the surface plasmon. Moreover, it is shown that HOMO and LUMO states near a metallic surface behave as statically screened rigid orbitals, with the result that the simple image theory arguments are sufficient to explain the HOMO–LUMO gap shift. Finally, it is demonstrated that the HOMO–LUMO gap shift dominantly depends on the position of the effective image plane z(im) of the adjacent surface.