Radiative lifetime of a BODIPY dye as calculated by TDDFT and EOM-CCSD methods: solvent and vibronic effects

Effect of annealing conditions on the luminescence properties and thermometric performance of Sr3Al2O5Cl2:Eu2+ and SrAl2O4:Eu2+ phosphors

We report on the synthesis, photoluminescence optimization and thermometric properties of Sr3Al2O5Cl2:Eu2+ and SrAl2O4:Eu2+ phosphor powders. The photoluminescence of Sr2.9Al2O5Cl2:0.1Eu2+ phosphors exhibits a blue-shift with an increasing annealing temperature owing to a decrease in the crystal field strength of the host caused by evaporation of Cl from the material. The quenching of the blue band in favour of the red band observed in the luminescence spectra of Sr2.9Al2O5Cl2:0.1Eu2+ with an increased annealing temperature was explained using the mechanism of the Landau-Zener transitions. The quantum yield and the lifetime of the phosphors depend on the annealing temperature. Phosphor samples annealed at 850 °C, 1000 °C, 1200 °C and 1500 °C were found to be potential luminescence thermometers using the luminescence spectral method. For Sr3Al2O5Cl2:Eu2+ annealed at 1000 °C, the temperature-dependent dual-band intensity ratio demonstrated a high-temperature sensitivity of ∼1.47%/°C in the temperature range of 23 °C to 40 °C which is superior to other reported phosphors with a microsecond decay time, suggesting that the material has potential for sensitive thermometry applications at ambient temperatures.

A Single Organic Fluorescent Probe for the Discrimination of Dual Spontaneous ROS in Living Organisms: Theoretical Approach

Single-organic-molecule fluorescent probes with double-lock or even multi-lock response modes have attracted the attention of a wide range of researchers. The number of corresponding reports has rapidly increased in recent years. The effective application of the multi-lock response mode single-molecule fluorescent probe has improved the comprehensive understanding of the related targets' functions or influences in pathologic processes. Building a highly efficient functional single-molecule fluorescent probe would benefit the diagnosis and treatment of corresponding diseases. Here, we conducted a theoretical analysis of the synthesizing and sensing mechanism of this kind of functional single-molecule fluorescent probe, thereby guiding the design and building of new efficient probes. In this work, we discuss in detail the electronic structure, electron excitation, and fluorescent character of a recently developed single-molecule fluorescent probe, which could achieve the discrimination and profiling of spontaneous reactive oxygen species (ROS, •OH, and HClO) simultaneously. The theoretical results provide insights that will help develop new tools for fluorescent diagnosis in biological and medical fields.

A quantum chemical study: thoughtful exploration for optimal donors in Y-type dual donor-based dye sensitizers

This research explores the influence of different dual donors on the effectiveness of dye sensitizers. We selected 35 diverse donors to construct Y-type dual donor-based dyes, connecting them with thiophene as the π-spacer and cyanoacrylic acid as the acceptor. Density functional theory calculations indicate that these dual donor-based dyes exhibit superior optoelectronic properties compared to their single donor counterparts. Notably, significant variations in charge distribution among the different dual donors affect their donor capabilities. Our calculations specifically highlight the enhanced thermodynamic parameters, including light harvesting efficiency (LHE), the free energy of dye injection (ΔGinject), and regeneration (ΔGreg), for donor moieties containing nitrogen atoms, such as NS-3 (N,N-dimethylaniline), NS-5 (diphenylamine), NS-6 (triphenylamine), and NS-8 (4-methoxy-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)-N-phenylaniline). These results suggest that nitrogen-containing donor moieties act as promising candidates for donors for efficient dye sensitizers. However, further experimental validation in the near future will be necessary to confirm our findings.

The design and synthesis of green emissive iridium(III) complexes guided by calculations of the vibrationally-resolved emission spectra

A key challenge in developing emissive materials for organic light-emitting diodes is to optimize their colour saturation, which means targeting narrowband emitters. In this combined theoretical and experimental study, we investigate the use of heavy atoms in the form of trimethylsilyl groups as a tool to reduce the intensity of the vibrations in the 2-phenylpyridinato ligands of emissive iridium(III) complexes that contribute to the vibrationally coupled modes that broaden the emission profile. An underutilised computational technique, Frank-Condon vibrationally coupled electronic spectral modelling, was used to identify the key vibrational modes that contribute to the broadening of the emission spectra in known benchmark green-emitting iridium(III) complexes. Based on these results, a family of eight new green-emitting iridium complexes containing trimethylsilyl groups substituted at different positions of the cyclometalating ligands has been prepared to explore the impact that these substituents have on reducing the intensity of the vibrations and the resulting reduction in the contribution of vibrationally coupled emission modes to the shape of the emission spectra. We have demonstrated that locating a trimethylsilyl group at the N4 or N5 position of the 2-phenylpyridine ligand damps the vibrational modes of the iridium complex and provides a modest narrowing of the emission spectrum of 8-9 nm (or 350 cm^-1). The strong correlation between experimental and calculated emission spectra highlights the utility of this computational method to understand how the vibrational modes contribute to the profile of the emission spectra in phosphorescent iridium(III) emitters.

Can machine learning methods accurately predict the molar absorption coefficient of different classes of dyes?

In this article, we provide a convenient tool for all researchers to predict the value of the molar absorption coefficient for a wide number of dyes without any computer costs. The new model is based on RFR method (ALogPS, OEstate + Fragmentor + QNPR) and is able to predict the molar absorption coefficient with an accuracy (5-fold cross-validation RMSE) of 0.26 log unit. This accuracy was achieved due to the fact that the model was trained on data for more than 20,000 unique dye molecules. To our knowledge, this is the first model for predicting the molar absorption coefficient trained on such a large and diverse set of dyes. The model is available at https://ochem.eu/article/145413. We hope that the new model will allow researchers to predict dyes with practically significant spectral characteristics and verify existing experimental data.

Semi-Empirical Calculation of Bodipy Aggregate Spectroscopic Properties through Direct Sampling of Configurational Ensembles

Efficient prediction of the aggregation-induced callback of organic chromophores for utilization in molecular sensorics is a desirable development goal in modern computational chemistry. Dye aggregates are complicated to study when utilizing conventional quantum chemistry approaches, since they are usually composed of too many atoms to be effectively analyzed, even with high-throughput parallel systems. Here, we present a successful attempt to develop a protocol to assess the spectroscopic changes happening in BODIPY dyes upon aggregation from the first principles utilizing extended tight-binding (XTB) and Zerner's intermediate neglect of differential overlap (ZINDO) Hamiltonians. The developed sampling technique for aggregate configurational space scanning was found to be sufficient to both reproduce peculiarities and justify experimental data on the spectroscopic behavior of chromophore aggregates. The sTDA, sTD-DFT (GFN2-XTB) and CIS (ZINDO) approaches were assessed, and then sources of errors and benefits were outlined. Importantly, our goal was to keep any of the mentioned calculations within a computational cost feasible for a single workstation, whereas scaling was possible at any point in time. Finally, several aggregate structures were investigated in the external field to try to achieve distributions similar to the ones observed in the electrostatic potential of the air-water interface to assess the borderlines of practical applicability of the suggested scheme.

Acriflavine in aqueous solution: excitation and hydration

Using TD-DFT/DFT, the ground and excited states of the acriflavine dye were studied in an aqueous medium. The mutual influence of photoexcitation and strong hydrogen bonds with the solvent was studied by comparing the purely implicit and combined modeling of the aqueous environment of the dye. The excitation of acriflavine was calculated considering the vibronic coupling. The effect of photoexcitation on dye vibrations was analyzed. The spatial structure of the acriflavine H-dimer was obtained and its absorption was estimated.