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Khan M, Khalid M, Murtaza S, Braga AAC, Alrashidi KA, Ahmed S. Exploration of the effect of multiple acceptor and π-spacer moieties coupled to indolonaphthyridine core for promising organic photovoltaic properties: a first principles framework. Sci Rep 2024; 14:19820. [PMID: 39191819 PMCID: PMC11350145 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-70457-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Herein, the indolonaphthyridine-based molecules (INDTD1-INDTD8) with A1-π-A2-π-A1 configuration were designed by the end-capped modification of INDTR reference with various acceptors. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) analyses at M06/6-31G(d,p) level were reported in this research to explore their optoelectronic and photovoltaic features. Their geometrical structures were initially optimized at the afore-said level and followed by various calculations such as the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), UV-Visible, density of states (DOS), transition density matrix (TDM), binding energy (Eb), open circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF). Moreover, their global reactivity parameters (GRPs) were depicted by using the HOMO-LUMO band gaps obtained from the FMOs study. The tailored molecules demonstrated lower band gaps (2.183-2.269 eV) than INDTR (2.288 eV). They also showed bathochromic shifts in the visible region in chloroform (735.937-762.318 nm) and gas phase (710.384-729.571 nm) as compared to INDTR (724.710 and 698.498 nm, respectively). Further, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) was demonstrated via the DOS and TDM graphical maps. Among all the entitled chromophores, INDTD7 showed significantly reduced band gap (2.183 eV), red-shifted absorption value (760.914 nm) in chloroform solvent and minimal Eb value (0.554 eV). The presence of -SO3H groups on the terminal acceptors of INDTD7 may enhance the mobility of charges. The results suggested that the newly designed chromophores can be effective candidates for the future organic solar cell applications. Moreover, this study may encourage the experimentalists to develop photovoltaic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mashal Khan
- Institute of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan
- Centre for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Khalid
- Institute of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan.
- Centre for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan.
| | - Shahzad Murtaza
- Institute of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan
- Centre for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan
| | - Ataualpa Albert Carmo Braga
- Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, São Paulo, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Khalid Abdullah Alrashidi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sarfraz Ahmed
- Harvard Medical School, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
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2
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Hussain M, Adnan M, Irshad Z, Hussain R, Darwish HW. Systematic Engineering of Near-Infrared Small Molecules Based on 4H-Cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b']dithiophene Acceptors for Organic Solar Cells. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:28791-28805. [PMID: 38973890 PMCID: PMC11223142 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
Nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have emerged as tremendous materials, efficiently advancing bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs) technology. Unlike their fullerene counterparts, NFAs offer the unique advantage of finely tunable electronic energy levels and optical characteristics, which correspond to substantial enhancement in power conversion efficiency of OSCs. Herein, we have introduced a new series of near-infrared NFAs (AY1-AY8) to advance this technology further. Our research deeply investigates the structure-property relationship and thoroughly explores the optical, optoelectronics, photophysical, and photovoltaic characteristics of a synthetic reference molecule (R) and the modeled AY1-AY8 NFAs series. We performed advanced quantum chemical simulations using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT methods. Additionally, we also estimated key geometric characteristics such as frontier molecular orbitals, hole-electron overlap, density of states, molecular electrostatic potential, molecular excitation and binding energies, transition density matrix, and reorganizational energy of electrons and holes and compared them with those of a synthetic reference molecule (R). Our findings show that all designed materials (AY1-AY8) exhibit red-shift absorption, improved electronic charge mobility, and low binding and excitation energies compared to R. Notably, these designed materials (AY1-AY8) display significantly narrower electronic energy gaps (E g 1.89-1.71 eV), indicating enhanced charge shifting from the highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and broadening of the absorption spectrum. Moreover, we also revealed a comprehensive study of the donor/acceptor complex of PTB7-Th/AY8 to understand charge shifting between donor and acceptor molecules. Therefore, we strongly recommend this designed (AY1-AY8) series to the experimentalists for the future development of highly efficient OSC devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muzammil Hussain
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Adnan
- Graduate
School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Zobia Irshad
- Graduate
School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Riaz Hussain
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan
| | - Hany W. Darwish
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Zaier R, Martel A, Antosiewicz TJ. Effect of Benzothiadiazole-Based π-Spacers on Fine-Tuning of Optoelectronic Properties of Oligothiophene-Core Donor Materials for Efficient Organic Solar Cells: A DFT Study. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:10555-10569. [PMID: 38086177 PMCID: PMC10749456 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c04866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
In this work, five novel A-π-D-π-A type molecules D1-D5 were designed by adding unusual benzothiadiazole derivatives as π-spacer blocks to the efficient reference molecule DRCN5T for application as donor materials in organic solar cells (OSCs). Based on a density functional theory approach, a comprehensive theoretical study was performed with different functionals (B3LYP, B3LYP-GD3, B3LYP-GD3BJ, CAM-B3LYP, M06, M062X, and wB97XD) and with different solvent types (PCM and SMD) at the extended basis set 6-311+g(d,p) to evaluate the structural, optoelectronic, and intramolecular charge transfer properties of these molecules. The B3LYP-GD3BJ hybrid functional was used to optimize the studied molecules in CHCl3 solution with the SMD model solvent as it provided the best results compared to experimental data. Transition density matrix maps were simulated to examine the hole-electron localization and the electronic excitation processes in the excited state, and photovoltaic parameters including open-circuit photovoltage and fill factor were investigated to predict the efficiency of these materials. All the designed materials showed promising optoelectronic and photovoltaic characteristics, and for most of them, a red shift. Out of the proposed molecules, [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-d]pyridazine was selected as a promising π-spacer block to evaluate its interaction with PC61BM in a composite to understand the charge transfer between the donor and acceptor subparts. Overall, this study showed that adding π-spacer building blocks to the molecular structure is undoubtedly a potential strategy to further enhance the performance of donor materials for OSC applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rania Zaier
- Faculty
of Physics, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 5, PL-02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Arnaud Martel
- Institut
des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans, UMR 6283 CNRS-Université du Maine, Avenue Olivier Messiaen, 72085 Cedex Le Mans, France
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Raza A, Mehmood RF, Rashid EU, Nasr S, Yahia IS, Iqbal J, Alatawi NS, Khera RA. Amplifying the photovoltaic properties of phenylene dithiophene core based non-fused ring by engineering the terminal acceptors modification to enhance the efficiency of organic solar cells. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 124:108563. [PMID: 37480831 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
In this study, a series of eight non-fused rings-based semiconducting acceptors (AR1-AR8) were computationally developed by making modifications to the parent molecule (PTICO). In this study, a DFT analysis was conducted at an accurately chosen level of theory to gather a comprehensive inventory of the optoelectronic characteristics of AR1-AR8 and PTICO. The findings indicate that all recently developed molecules exhibit a bathochromic shift in their maximum UV-visible absorbance (λmax) with a smaller band gap (Eg). AR1 has demonstrated the most significant red shift in UV-visible absorbance and possesses the smallest Eg when compared to other recently developed acceptors. AR2 acceptor has shown the best results both as electron and hole-transporting materials owing to its smallest value of reorganization energy for electrons and holes. J61 donor was engaged to calculate the open-circuit voltage (VOC) and the highest VOC with maximum FF % value was observed in AR4. The investigation of charge transfer was also conducted utilizing J61 in conjunction with the AR4 acceptor. Natural transition orbitals (NTO) have also been inspected to recognize the percentage electron transport contribution (% ETC) from the ground state to the first excites state (S0 to S1). The findings of this research suggest that the modified acceptors exhibit potential for practical implementation in the development of organic solar cells that possess improved photovoltaic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Raza
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Rana Farhat Mehmood
- Department of Chemistry, University of Education, Township, Lahore, 54770, Pakistan D Research, Pakistan
| | - Ehsan Ullah Rashid
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Samia Nasr
- Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, P.O. Box 9004, Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, P.O. Box 9004, Saudi Arabia
| | - I S Yahia
- Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, P.O. Box 9004, Saudi Arabia; Laboratory of Nano-Smart Materials for Science and Technology (LNSMST), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, Saudi Arabia; Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research (CMBHSR), Ajman University, Ajman, P.O. Box 346, United Arab Emirates
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
| | - Naifa S Alatawi
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71421, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rasheed Ahmad Khera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
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5
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Shafiq I, Mustafa A, Zahid R, Baby R, Ahmed S, Asghar MA, Ahamad T, Alam M, Braga AAC, Ojha SC. Theoretical Perspective toward Designing of 5-Methylbenzo [1,2- b:3,4- b':6,5- b″] trithiophene-Based Nonlinear Optical Compounds with Extended Acceptors. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:39288-39302. [PMID: 37901567 PMCID: PMC10601083 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c04774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
A series of benzotrithiophene-based compounds (DCTM1-DCTM6) having D1-π1-D2-π2-A configuration were designed using a reference molecule (DCTMR) via incorporating pyrrole rings (n = 1-5) as the π-spacer (π2). Quantum chemical calculations were performed to determine the impact of the pyrrole ring on the nonlinear optical (NLO) behavior of the above-mentioned chromophores. The optoelectronic properties of the compounds were determined at the MW1PW91/6-311G(d,p) functional. Among all of the derivatives, DCTM5 exhibited the least highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) band gap (Eg) 0.968 eV with a high softness of 0.562 eV-1, and hence possessed the highest polarizability. Interestingly, transition density matrix (TDM) findings demonstrated that DCTM5 with an effective diagonal charge transmission proportion at the acceptor group supports the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) results. Additionally, the exciton binding energy values for DCTM1-DCTM6 were found to be less than that for DCTMR and thus, the effective charge transfer was examined in the derivatives. All of the derivatives exhibited effective NLO outcomes with the highest magnitude of linear polarizability ⟨α⟩, and first (βtot) and second (γtot) hyperpolarizabilities relative to the parent compound. Nevertheless, the highest βtot and γtot were obtained for DTCM1 and DTCM6, 7.0440 × 10-27 and 22.260 × 10-34 esu, respectively. Hence, through this structural tailoring with a pyrrole spacer, effective NLO materials can be obtained for optoelectronic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iqra Shafiq
- Institute
of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of
Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
- Centre
for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
| | - Ayesha Mustafa
- Institute
of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of
Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
- Centre
for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
| | - Romaisa Zahid
- Institute
of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of
Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
- Centre
for Theoretical and Computational Research, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
| | - Rabia Baby
- Department
of education, Sukkur IBA university, Sukkur 65200, Pakistan
| | - Sarfraz Ahmed
- Wellman
Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
| | - Muhammad Adnan Asghar
- Department
of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education Lahore, Lahore 54770, Pakistan
| | - Tansir Ahamad
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manawwer Alam
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ataualpa A. C. Braga
- Departamento
de Qu′ımica Fundamental, Instituto de Qu′ımica, Universidade de Saõ Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Sao Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Suvash Chandra Ojha
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, The Affiliated Hospital
of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
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Hassan T, Sajid I, Ramzan Saeed Ashraf Janjua M, Shafiq Z, Yasir Mehboob M, Sultan N. Non-fullerene based photovoltaic materials for solar cell applications: DFT-based analysis and interpretation. COMPUT THEOR CHEM 2023; 1224:114128. [DOI: 10.1016/j.comptc.2023.114128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
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7
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Rasool A, Ans M, El Maati LA, Abdelmohsen SAM, Alotaibi BM, Iqbal J. Designing of anthracene-arylamine hole transporting materials for organic and perovskite solar cells. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 122:108464. [PMID: 37087884 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
This study focuses on the creation of 5 small donor molecules (A102W1-A102W5) by substituting the one-sided methoxy group of model (A102R) with different thiophene bridged acceptor moieties. B3LYP/6-31**G (d,p) model has been employed for computational analysis. The best miscibility was found for A102W3 in dichloromethane (DCM) solvent, where its λmax was also found to be at 753 nm, its Eg was found to be 1.55 eV as well as dipole moment in DCM was 21.47 D. The percentage of PCE among all the variants was greatest for A102W2 (25.31%). The electron reorganization energy shown by A102W4 was 0.00470 eV, whereas the hole reorganization energy investigated in A102W2 was 0.00586 eV representing their maximum electron and hole mobility respectively amongst all. Results validate the value of specified techniques, opening a new door to create efficient small donors for OSCs and HTMs for PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvina Rasool
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Ans
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Lamia Abu El Maati
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Shaimaa A M Abdelmohsen
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Badriah M Alotaibi
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan; Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
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Waqas M, Hadia NMA, Shawky AM, Mahmood RF, Essid M, Aloui Z, Alatawi NS, Iqbal J, Khera RA. Theoretical framework for achieving high V oc in non-fused non-fullerene terthiophene-based end-capped modified derivatives for potential applications in organic photovoltaics. RSC Adv 2023; 13:7535-7553. [PMID: 36908528 PMCID: PMC9993241 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra00038a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-fused ring-based OSCs are an excellent choice, which is attributed to their low cost and flexibility in applications. However, developing efficient and stable non-fused ring-based OSCs is still a big challenge. In this work, with the intent to increase V oc for enhanced performance, seven new molecules derived from a pre-existing A-D-A type A3T-5 molecule are proposed. Different important optical, electronic and efficiency-related attributes of molecules are studied using the DFT approach. It is discovered that newly devised molecules possess the optimum features required to construct proficient OSCs. They possess a small band gap ranging from 2.22-2.29 eV and planar geometries. Six of seven newly proposed molecules have less excitation energy, a higher absorption coefficient and higher dipole moment than A3T-5 in both gaseous and solvent phases. The A3T-7 molecule exhibited the maximum improvement in optoelectronic properties showing the highest λ max at 697 nm and the lowest E x of 1.77 eV. The proposed molecules have lower ionization potential values, reorganization energies of electrons and interaction coefficients than the A3T-5 molecule. The V oc of six newly developed molecules is higher (V oc ranging from 1.46-1.72 eV) than that of A3T-5 (V oc = 1.55 eV). Similarly, almost all the proposed molecules except W6 exhibited improvement in fill factor compared to the A3T-5 reference. This remarkable improvement in efficiency-associated parameters (V oc and FF) proves that these molecules can be successfully used as an advanced version of terthiophene-based OSCs in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Waqas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - N M A Hadia
- Physics Department, College of Science, Jouf University P.O. Box 2014 Sakaka Al-Jouf Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University Makkah 21955 Saudi Arabia
| | - Rana Farhat Mahmood
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education Township Lahore 54770 Pakistan
| | - Manel Essid
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Khalid University (KKU) P.O. Box 9004 Abha Saudi Arabia
| | - Zouhaier Aloui
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Khalid University (KKU) P.O. Box 9004 Abha Saudi Arabia
| | - Naifa S Alatawi
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk Tabuk 71421 Saudi Arabia
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Rasheed Ahmad Khera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
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Zahoor A, Hadia NMA, Akram SJ, Mehmood RF, Sadiq S, Shawky AM, Alatawi NS, Ahmed A, Iqbal J, Khera RA. Alteration of the central core of a DF-PCIC chromophore to boost the photovoltaic applications of non-fullerene acceptor based organic solar cells. RSC Adv 2023; 13:6530-6547. [PMID: 36845585 PMCID: PMC9951189 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra08091e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Modifying the central core is a very efficient strategy to boost the performance of non-fullerene acceptors. Herein five non-fullerene acceptors (M1-M5) of A-D-D'-D-A type were designed by substituting the central acceptor core of the reference (A-D-A'-D-A type) with different strongly conjugated and electron donating cores (D') to enhance the photovoltaic attributes of OSCs. All the newly designed molecules were analyzed through quantum mechanical simulations to compute their optoelectronic, geometrical, and photovoltaic parameters and compare them to the reference. Theoretical simulations of all the structures were carried out through different functionals with a carefully selected 6-31G(d,p) basis set. Absorption spectra, charge mobility, dynamics of excitons, distribution pattern of electron density, reorganization energies, transition density matrices, natural transition orbitals and frontier molecular orbitals, respectively of the studied molecules were evaluated at this functional. Among the designed structures in various functionals, M5 showed the most improved optoelectronic properties, such as the lowest band gap (2.18 e V), highest maximum absorption (720 nm), and lowest binding energy (0.46 eV) in chloroform solvent. Although the highest photovoltaic aptitude as acceptors at the interface was perceived to be of M1, its highest band gap and lowest absorption maxima lowered its candidature as the best molecule. Thus, M5 with its lowest electron reorganization energy, highest light harvesting efficiency, and promising open-circuit voltage (better than the reference), amongst other favorable features, outperformed the others. Conclusively, each evaluated property commends the aptness of designed structures to augment the power conversion efficiency (PCE) in the field of optoelectronics in one way or another, which reveals that a central un-fused core having an electron-donating capability with terminal groups being significantly electron withdrawing, is an effective configuration for the attainment of promising optoelectronic parameters, and thus the proposed molecules could be utilized in future NFAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amna Zahoor
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - N M A Hadia
- Physics Department, College of Science, Jouf University P.O. Box 2014 Sakaka Al-Jouf Saudi Arabia
| | - Sahar Javaid Akram
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Rana Farhat Mehmood
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education Township Lahore 54770 Pakistan
| | - Sonia Sadiq
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Ahmed M Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University Makkah 21955 Saudi Arabia
| | - Naifa S Alatawi
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk Tabuk 71421 Saudi Arabia
| | - Asma Ahmed
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, University of Tabuk Tabuk Saudi Arabia
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Rasheed Ahmad Khera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
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Alarfaji SS, Fatima D, Ali B, Sattar A, Hussain R, Hussain R, Ayub K. Computational Investigation of Near-Infrared-Absorbing Indeno[1,2- b]indole Analogues as Acceptors in Organic Photovoltaic Devices. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:1430-1442. [PMID: 36643501 PMCID: PMC9835169 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c06878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Organic solar cells (OSCs) with fullerene-free acceptors have recently been in high demand in the solar cell market because OSCs are less expensive, more flexible, long-lasting, eco-friendly, and, most importantly, have better photovoltaic performance with a higher PCE. We used INTIC as our reference R molecule and designed five new molecules DF1-DF5 from this R molecule. We attempted to test the power conversion efficiencies of five designed novel molecules, DF1-DF5. Therefore, we compared the PCE values of DF1-DF5 with that of R. We used a variety of computational techniques on these molecules to achieve this goal. Among the designed molecules, DF5 proved to be the best due to its lowest H-L bandgap energy E g (1.82 eV), the highest value of λmax (844.58 nm) within dichloromethane, the lowest excitation energy (1.47 eV), and the lowest oscillator strength value. The newly designed molecule DF2 exhibited the highest dipole moment (21.98 D), while DF3 displayed the minimum binding energy (0.34 eV) and the highest V oc value (1.37 V) with HOMOdonor-LUMOacceptor. According to the partial density of states (PDOS) and transition density matrix (TDM) analysis, DF2 and DF5 exhibited the best results. Charge-transfer (CT) analysis of the blend DF5 and PTB7-Th confirmed the accepting nature of the DF5 molecule. These findings show that by modifying the end-capped units, we can create customized molecules with improved photovoltaic properties. These findings also show that when compared with R, all of the designed molecules DF1-DF5 have improved optoelectronic properties. As a result, it is strongly advised to employ these conceptualized molecules in the practical synthesis of organic solar cells (OSCs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Saleh S. Alarfaji
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid
University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha61413, Saudi Arabia
- Research
center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P. O. Box 9004, Abha61514, Saudi Arabia
| | - Doua Fatima
- Department
of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore32200, Pakistan
| | - Bakhat Ali
- Institute
of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of
Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan64200, Pakistan
| | - Abdul Sattar
- Department
of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore32200, Pakistan
| | - Riaz Hussain
- Department
of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore32200, Pakistan
| | - Riaz Hussain
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara56300, Pakistan
| | - Khurshid Ayub
- Department
of Chemistry, COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Abbottabad22060, Pakistan
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11
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Anwar S, Naeem N, Mufarreh Elqahtani Z, Siddique S, Iqbal J, Al-Buriahi M, Alomairy S. Quantum chemical simulations of benzothiadiazole (BT) based small molecule donor materials for efficient organic solar cells. Chem Phys Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2022.139726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Pan L, Zhan T, Oh J, Zhang Y, Tang H, Yang M, Li M, Yang C, Liu X, Cai P, Duan C, Huang F, Cao Y. N-Type Quinoidal Polymers Based on Dipyrrolopyrazinedione for Application in All-Polymer Solar Cells. Chemistry 2021; 27:13527-13533. [PMID: 34406681 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202102084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Conjugated molecules and polymers with intrinsic quinoidal structure are promising n-type organic semiconductors, which have been reported for application in field-effect transistors and thermoelectric devices. In principle, the molecular and electronic characteristics of quinoidal polymers can also enable their application in organic solar cells. Herein, two quinoidal polymers, named PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT, based on dipyrrolopyrazinedione were synthesized and used as electron acceptors in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Both PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT showed suitable energy levels and wide light absorption range that extended to the near-infrared region. When combined with the polymer donor PBDB-T, the resulting all-PSCs based on PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.33 and 2.37 %, respectively. This is the first report on the application of intrinsic quinoidal conjugated polymers in all-PSCs. The photovoltaic performance of the all-PSCs was revealed to be mainly limited by the relatively poor and imbalanced charge transport, considerable charge recombination. Detailed investigations on the structure-performance relationship suggested that synergistic optimization of light absorption, energy levels, and charge transport properties is needed to achieve more successful application of intrinsic quinoidal conjugated polymers in all-PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Langheng Pan
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Tao Zhan
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China.,School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, P. R. China
| | - Jiyeon Oh
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Perovtronics Research Center, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
| | - Yue Zhang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Haoran Tang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Mingqun Yang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Mengmeng Li
- Key Laboratory of Microelectronic Devices and Integrated Technology, Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100029, P. R. China
| | - Changduk Yang
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Perovtronics Research Center, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
| | - Xi Liu
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for New Textile Materials, School of Textile Materials and Engineering, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, 529020, P. R. China
| | - Ping Cai
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, P. R. China
| | - Chunhui Duan
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China.,State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, P. R. China
| | - Fei Huang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Yong Cao
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
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13
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Designing alkoxy-induced based high performance near infrared sensitive small molecule acceptors for organic solar cells. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.112829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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14
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Naeem M, Jabeen S, Khera RA, Mubashar U, Iqbal J. Tuning of optoelectronic properties of triphenylamines-based donor materials for organic solar cells. JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL & COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY 2020. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219633619500366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, four molecules have been designed by substituting various acceptor moieties around the triphenylamine donor moiety like 2-cyano acrylic acid (R), 2-methylene malonitrile (M1), 2-cyano acrylic acid methyl ester(M2), 2-(2-methylene-3-oxo-indan-1-ylidene)-malonitrile (M3), 2-(6,7-difluoro-2-methylene-3-oxo-indan-1-ylidene)-malonitrile (M4), respectively. CAM-B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory by using density functional theory (DFT) has been used for the investigation of optoelectronic properties of four new triphenylamine (TPA)-based donor materials (M1–M4) for organic solar cells. In comparison with the recently reported reference molecule, the optoelectronic properties of designed molecules were evaluated. M4 showed absorption maxima at 520[Formula: see text]nm due to extended conjugation with bridged thiophene group. Results of reorganization energy calculations also favor M4 exhibiting highest transfer rate of hole as depicted from its low reorganization energy of hole ([Formula: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Naeem
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Sobia Jabeen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Rasheed Ahmad Khera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Usama Mubashar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Punjab Bio-energy Institute, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
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15
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Ans M, Iqbal J, Bhatti IA, Ayub K. Designing dithienonaphthalene based acceptor materials with promising photovoltaic parameters for organic solar cells. RSC Adv 2019; 9:34496-34505. [PMID: 35529957 PMCID: PMC9073892 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra06345e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Scientists are focusing on non-fullerene based acceptors due to their efficient photovoltaic properties. Here, we have designed four novel dithienonaphthalene based acceptors with better photovoltaic properties through structural modification of a well-known experimentally synthesized reference compound R. The newly designed molecules have a dithienonaphthalene core attached with different acceptors (end-capped). The acceptor moieties are 2-(5,6-difluoro-2-methylene-3-oxo-2,3-dihydroinden-1-ylidene)malononitrile (H1), 2-(5,6-dicyano-2-methylene-3-oxo-2,3-dihydroinden-1-ylidene)-malononitrile (H2), 2-(5-methylene-6-oxo-5,6-dihydrocylopenta[c]thiophe-4-ylidene)-malononitrile (H3) and 2-(3-(dicyanomethylene)-2,3-dihydroinden-1-yliden)malononitrile (H4). The photovoltaic parameters of the designed molecules are discussed in comparison with those of the reference R. All newly designed molecules show a reduced HOMO-LUMO energy gap (2.17 eV to 2.28 eV), compared to the reference R (2.31 eV). Charger transfer from donor to acceptor is confirmed by a frontier molecular orbital (FMO) diagram. All studied molecules show extensive absorption in the visible region and absorption maxima are red-shifted compared to R. All investigated molecules have lower excitation energies which reveal high charge transfer rates, as compared to R. To evaluate the open circuit voltage, the designed acceptor molecules are blended with a well-known donor PBDB-T. The molecule H3 has the highest V oc value (1.88 V). TDM has been performed to show the behaviour of electronic excitation processes and electron hole location between the donor and acceptor unit. The binding energies of all molecules are lower than that of R. The lowest is calculated for H3 (0.24 eV) which reflects the highest charge transfer. The reorganization energy value for both the electrons and holes of H2 is lower than R which is indicative of the highest charge transfer rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Ans
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
- Punjab Bio-energy Institute, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38040 Pakistan
| | - Ijaz Ahmad Bhatti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan
| | - Khurshid Ayub
- Department of Chemistry, COMSAT University Abbottabad Campus Abbottabad KPK 22060 Pakistan
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