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Sowa JK, Allen TC, Rossky PJ. Accumulation and ordering of P3HT oligomers at the liquid-vapor interface with implications for thin-film morphology. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:20808-20816. [PMID: 37493614 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02718j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
The morphology of semiconducting polymer thin films is known to have a profound effect on their opto-electronic properties. Although considerable efforts have been made to control and understand the processes which influence the structures of these systems, it remains largely unclear what physical factors determine the arrangement of polymer chains in spin-cast films. Here, we investigate the role that the liquid-vapor interfaces in chlorobenzene solutions of poly(3-hexylthiophene) [P3HT] play in the conformational geometries adopted by the polymers. Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD), and supported by toy-model simulations, we demonstrate that, with increasing concentration, P3HT oligomers in solution exhibit a strong propensity for the liquid-vapor interface. Due to the differential solubility of the backbone and side chains of the oligomers, in the vicinity of this interface, hexyl chains and the thiophene rings, have a clear orientational preference with respect to the liquid surface. At high concentrations, we additionally establish a substantial degree of inter-oligomer alignment and thiophene ring stacking near the interface. Our results broadly concur with the limited existing experimental evidence and we suggest that the interfacial structure can act as a template for film structure. We argue that the differences in solvent affinity of the side chain and backbone moieties are the driving force for the anisotropic orientations of the polymers near the interface. This finer grained description contrasts with the usual monolithic characterization of polymer units. Since this phenomenon can be controlled by concurrent chemical design and the choice of solvents, this work establishes a fabrication principle which may be useful to develop more highly functional polymer films.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub K Sowa
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
| | - Thomas C Allen
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
| | - Peter J Rossky
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
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2
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Yoshioka NA, Faraco TA, Barud HS, Ribeiro SJL, Cremona M, Fragneaud B, Maciel IO, Quirino WG, Legnani C. Synthesis of Organic Semiconductor Nanoparticles with Different Conformations Using the Nanoprecipitation Method. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14245336. [PMID: 36559705 PMCID: PMC9785456 DOI: 10.3390/polym14245336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, nanoparticulate materials have aroused interest in the field of organic electronics due to their high versatility which increases the efficiency of devices. In this work, four different stable conformations based on the organic semiconductors P3HT and PC71BM were synthesized using the nanoprecipitation method, including blend and core-shell nanoparticles. All nanoparticles were obtained free of surfactants and in aqueous suspensions following the line of ecologically correct routes. The structural and optoelectronic properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and UV-visible photoluminescence (PL). Even in aqueous media, the blend and core-shell nanoparticles exhibited a greater light absorption capacity, and these conformations proved to be effective in the process of dissociation of excitons that occurs at the P3HT donor/PC71BM acceptor interface. With all these characteristics and allied to the fact that the nanoparticles are surfactant-free aqueous suspensions, this work paves the way for the use of these colloids as a photoactive layer of organic photovoltaic devices that interface with biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalia A. Yoshioka
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
- Correspondence: (N.A.Y.); (C.L.)
| | - Thales A. Faraco
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
| | - Hernane S. Barud
- Laboratório de Biopolímeros e Biomateriais (BIOPOLMAT), Departamento de Química, Universidade de Araraquara (UNIARA), Araraquara 14801-340, SP, Brazil
| | - Sidney J. L. Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Materiais Fotônicos, Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Araraquara 14800-060, SP, Brazil
| | - Marco Cremona
- Laboratório de Optoeletrônica Molecular (LOEM), Departamento de Física, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro 22453-970, RJ, Brazil
| | - Benjamin Fragneaud
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
| | - Indhira O. Maciel
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
| | - Welber G. Quirino
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
| | - Cristiano Legnani
- Grupo de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia (NANO), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-330, MG, Brazil
- Correspondence: (N.A.Y.); (C.L.)
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3
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Yorur Goreci C. Synthesis and comparative spectroscopic studies, HOMO–LUMO analysis and molecular docking studies of 3,3′-(1,4-phenylene)bis[2-(6-chloropyridin-3-yl)prop‑2-enenitrile] based on DFT. J Mol Struct 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.133149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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4
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Conception and Theoretical Study of a New Copolymer Based on MEH-PPV and P3HT: Enhancement of the Optoelectronic Properties for Organic Photovoltaic Cells. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14030513. [PMID: 35160502 PMCID: PMC8838373 DOI: 10.3390/polym14030513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A new copolymer has been studied, which is formed by Poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (MEH-PPV) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The choice of these π-conjugated polymers was based on their semiconductor characters and their great applicability in electronic organic devices. The structure and vibrational and optoelectronic properties were simulated by calculations based on DFT, TD-DFT, and ZINDO. This material shows original and unique properties compared to the basic homopolymers. Thus, the obtained results reveal that this copolymer can be mixed with the (6,6)-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) to give existence to a new composite that can be used as an active layer for an organic solar cell.
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Wu R, Matta M, Paulsen BD, Rivnay J. Operando Characterization of Organic Mixed Ionic/Electronic Conducting Materials. Chem Rev 2022; 122:4493-4551. [PMID: 35026108 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Operando characterization plays an important role in revealing the structure-property relationships of organic mixed ionic/electronic conductors (OMIECs), enabling the direct observation of dynamic changes during device operation and thus guiding the development of new materials. This review focuses on the application of different operando characterization techniques in the study of OMIECs, highlighting the time-dependent and bias-dependent structure, composition, and morphology information extracted from these techniques. We first illustrate the needs, requirements, and challenges of operando characterization then provide an overview of relevant experimental techniques, including spectroscopy, scattering, microbalance, microprobe, and electron microscopy. We also compare different in silico methods and discuss the interplay of these computational methods with experimental techniques. Finally, we provide an outlook on the future development of operando for OMIEC-based devices and look toward multimodal operando techniques for more comprehensive and accurate description of OMIECs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiheng Wu
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Micaela Matta
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Bryan D Paulsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Jonathan Rivnay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
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Babu NS. Donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structural monomers as donor materials in polymer solar cells: a DFT/TDDFT approach. Des Monomers Polym 2021; 24:330-342. [PMID: 34776758 PMCID: PMC8583853 DOI: 10.1080/15685551.2021.1997178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) are used to investigate the ground- and excited-state properties of donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) monomers based on 3,6-carbazole (CB) combined with various-conjugated benzothiazole derivatives, using B3LYP and the 6-311 G basis set. To create nine D-A-D monomers for this investigation, nine (9) distinct acceptors were inserted at the C3 and C6 positions of carbazole. The impact of various electron-donor groups on structural, electrical, and optoelectronic properties is investigated. Our technique for developing novel donor monomers provides a theoretical framework for further optimizing the photovoltaic device's electrical, optical, and efficiency features. The HOMO and LUMO energies, bandgap, excited state, exciton binding energy, open-circuit voltage (VOC) and absorption spectra were calculated. Our findings indicate that CB-TDP-CB and CB-SDP-CB monomers have an appropriate electronic structure for polymer solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Numbury Surendra Babu
- Computational Quantum Chemistry Lab, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, the University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania
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Krumland J, Valencia AM, Cocchi C. Exploring organic semiconductors in solution: the effects of solvation, alkylization, and doping. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:4841-4855. [PMID: 33605967 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp06085b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The first-principles simulation of the electronic structure of organic semiconductors in solution poses a number of challenges that are not trivial to address simultaneously. In this work, we investigate the effects and the mutual interplay of solvation, alkylization, and doping on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of sexithiophene, a representative organic semiconductor molecule. To this end, we employ (time-dependent) density functional theory in conjunction with the polarizable-continuum model. We find that the torsion between adjacent monomer units plays a key role, as it strongly influences the electronic structure of the molecule, including energy gap, ionization potential, and band widths. Alkylization promotes delocalization of the molecular orbitals up to the first methyl unit, regardless of the chain length, leading to an overall shift of the energy levels. The alterations in the electronic structure are reflected in the optical absorption, which is additionally affected by dynamical solute-solvent interactions. Taking all these effects into account, solvents decrease the optical gap by an amount that depends on its polarity, and concomitantly increase the oscillator strength of the first excitation. The interaction with a dopant molecule promotes planarization. In such scenario, solvation and alkylization enhance charge transfer both in the ground state and in the excited state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannis Krumland
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Physics Department and IRIS Adlershof, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
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Arvind M, Tait CE, Guerrini M, Krumland J, Valencia AM, Cocchi C, Mansour AE, Koch N, Barlow S, Marder SR, Behrends J, Neher D. Quantitative Analysis of Doping-Induced Polarons and Charge-Transfer Complexes of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) in Solution. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:7694-7708. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c03517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Malavika Arvind
- Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Claudia E. Tait
- Institut für Experimentalphysik, Berlin Joint EPR Lab, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michele Guerrini
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jannis Krumland
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ana M. Valencia
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Caterina Cocchi
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Ahmed E. Mansour
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Norbert Koch
- Institut für Physik and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephen Barlow
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Seth R. Marder
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Jan Behrends
- Institut für Experimentalphysik, Berlin Joint EPR Lab, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dieter Neher
- Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
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9
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Urrego-Riveros S, Bremer M, Hoffmann J, Heitmann A, Reynaldo T, Buhl J, Gates PJ, Sönnichsen FD, Hissler M, Gerken M, Staubitz A. Conjugated oligomers with alternating heterocycles from a single monomer: synthesis and demonstration of electroluminescence. Org Chem Front 2019. [DOI: 10.1039/c9qo00947g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A synthetic strategy for push–pull oligomers is based on a nucleophile and electrophile selective synthesis of the corresponding monomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Urrego-Riveros
- Institute for Organic and Analytical Chemistry
- University of Bremen
- 28359 Bremen
- Germany
- University of Bremen
| | - Matthias Bremer
- Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
- University of Kiel
- 24143 Kiel
- Germany
| | - Jonas Hoffmann
- Institute for Organic and Analytical Chemistry
- University of Bremen
- 28359 Bremen
- Germany
- University of Bremen
| | - Anne Heitmann
- Institute for Organic and Analytical Chemistry
- University of Bremen
- 28359 Bremen
- Germany
- University of Bremen
| | | | - Janek Buhl
- Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
- University of Kiel
- 24143 Kiel
- Germany
| | - Paul J. Gates
- School of Chemistry
- University of Bristol
- Bristol BS8 1TS
- UK
| | - Frank D. Sönnichsen
- Otto-Diels-Institute for Organic Chemistry
- University of Kiel
- 24098 Kiel
- Germany
| | | | - Martina Gerken
- Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
- University of Kiel
- 24143 Kiel
- Germany
| | - Anne Staubitz
- Institute for Organic and Analytical Chemistry
- University of Bremen
- 28359 Bremen
- Germany
- University of Bremen
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10
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Farouil L, Alary F, Bedel-Pereira E, Heully JL. Revisiting the Vibrational and Optical Properties of P3HT: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:6532-6545. [PMID: 30025204 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b03814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Léa Farouil
- LCPQ-IRSAMC, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UT3-Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
- CNRS, LAAS, 7 avenue du Colonel ROCHE, F-31400 Toulouse, France
- Université de Toulouse, UPS, LAAS, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Fabienne Alary
- LCPQ-IRSAMC, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UT3-Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Eléna Bedel-Pereira
- CNRS, LAAS, 7 avenue du Colonel ROCHE, F-31400 Toulouse, France
- Université de Toulouse, UPS, LAAS, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-Louis Heully
- LCPQ-IRSAMC, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UT3-Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
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11
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Khlaifia D, Massuyeau F, Ewels CP, Duvail JL, Faulques E, Alimi K. DFT Modeling of Novel Donor-Acceptor (D-A) Molecules Incorporating 3-hexylthiophene (3HT) for Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells. ChemistrySelect 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/slct.201701481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dalila Khlaifia
- Unité de Recherche, Matériaux Nouveaux et Dispositifs Electroniques Organiques; Faculté des Sciences de Monastir; University of Monastir; 5000 Monastir Tunisia
| | - Florian Massuyeau
- Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN); Université de Nantes, CNRS; 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP 32229 44322 Nantes cedex 3 France
| | - Christopher P. Ewels
- Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN); Université de Nantes, CNRS; 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP 32229 44322 Nantes cedex 3 France
| | - Jean-Luc Duvail
- Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN); Université de Nantes, CNRS; 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP 32229 44322 Nantes cedex 3 France
| | - Eric Faulques
- Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN); Université de Nantes, CNRS; 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP 32229 44322 Nantes cedex 3 France
| | - Kamel Alimi
- Unité de Recherche, Matériaux Nouveaux et Dispositifs Electroniques Organiques; Faculté des Sciences de Monastir; University of Monastir; 5000 Monastir Tunisia
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