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Siemons N, Pearce D, Yu H, Tuladhar SM, LeCroy GS, Sheelamanthula R, Hallani RK, Salleo A, McCulloch I, Giovannitti A, Frost JM, Nelson J. Controlling swelling in mixed transport polymers through alkyl side-chain physical cross-linking. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306272120. [PMID: 37603750 PMCID: PMC10467570 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306272120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Semiconducting conjugated polymers bearing glycol side chains can simultaneously transport both electronic and ionic charges with high charge mobilities, making them ideal electrode materials for a range of bioelectronic devices. However, heavily glycolated conjugated polymer films have been observed to swell irreversibly when subjected to an electrochemical bias in an aqueous electrolyte. The excessive swelling can lead to the degradation of their microstructure, and subsequently reduced device performance. An effective strategy to control polymer film swelling is to copolymerize glycolated repeat units with a fraction of monomers bearing alkyl side chains, although the microscopic mechanism that constrains swelling is unknown. Here we investigate, experimentally and computationally, a series of archetypal mixed transporting copolymers with varying ratios of glycolated and alkylated repeat units. Experimentally we observe that exchanging 10% of the glycol side chains for alkyl leads to significantly reduced film swelling and an increase in electrochemical stability. Through molecular dynamics simulation of the amorphous phase of the materials, we observe the formation of polymer networks mediated by alkyl side-chain interactions. When in the presence of water, the network becomes increasingly connected, counteracting the volumetric expansion of the polymer film.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Siemons
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Drew Pearce
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Hang Yu
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Sachetan M. Tuladhar
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Garrett S. LeCroy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Rajendar Sheelamanthula
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Solar Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rawad K. Hallani
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Solar Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alberto Salleo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Iain McCulloch
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Solar Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alexander Giovannitti
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg412 96, Sweden
| | - Jarvist M. Frost
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny Nelson
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, South Kensington, LondonSW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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2
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Tan Y, Boudouris BW, Savoie BM. Bridging the Monomer to Polymer Gap in Radical Polymer Design. ACS Macro Lett 2023:801-807. [PMID: 37257139 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Radical polymers bearing open-shell moieties at pendant sites exhibit unique redox and optoelectronic properties that are promising for many organic electronic applications. Nevertheless, gaps remain in relating the electronic properties of repeat units, which can be easily calculated, to the condensed-phase charge transport behaviors of these materials. To address this gap, we have performed the first quantum chemical study on a broad swathe of radical polymer design space that explicitly includes the coupling between polymer constraints and radical-mediated intramolecular charge transfer. For this purpose, a chemical space of 64 radical polymer chemistries was constructed based on varying backbone units, open-shell chemistries, and spacer units between the backbone and the radical groups. For each combination of backbone, radical, and spacer, comprehensive conformational sampling was used to calculate expected values of intrachain charge transport using several complementary metrics, including the end-to-end thermal Green's function, Delta-Wye transformed inverse resistance, and the Kirchhoff transport index. We observe that charge transport in radical polymers is primarily driven by the choice radical chemistry, which influences the optimal choice of backbone chemistry and spacer group that mediate radical alignment and avoid the formation of undesired trap states. Given the limited exploration of radical chemistries beyond the TEMPO radical for this class of materials, these findings suggest tremendous opportunities exist for synthetic exploration in radical polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Tan
- Charles D. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 480 Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Bryan W Boudouris
- Charles D. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 480 Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Brett M Savoie
- Charles D. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 480 Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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3
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Willson JT, Liu W, Balzer D, Kassal I. Jumping Kinetic Monte Carlo: Fast and Accurate Simulations of Partially Delocalized Charge Transport in Organic Semiconductors. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3757-3764. [PMID: 37044057 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Developing devices using disordered organic semiconductors requires accurate and practical models of charge transport. In these materials, charge transport occurs through partially delocalized states in an intermediate regime between localized hopping and delocalized band conduction. Partial delocalization can increase mobilities by orders of magnitude compared to those with conventional hopping, making it important for the design of materials and devices. Although delocalization, disorder, and polaron formation can be described using delocalized kinetic Monte Carlo (dKMC), it is a computationally expensive method. Here, we develop jumping kinetic Monte Carlo (jKMC), a model that approaches the accuracy of dKMC for modest amounts of delocalization (such as those found in disordered organic semiconductors), with a computational cost comparable to that of conventional hopping. jKMC achieves its computational performance by modeling conduction using identical spherical polarons, yielding a simple delocalization correction to the Marcus hopping rate that allows polarons to jump over their nearest neighbors. jKMC can be used in regimes of partial delocalization inaccessible to dKMC to show that modest delocalization can increase mobilities by as much as 2 orders of magnitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob T Willson
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - William Liu
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel Balzer
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Ivan Kassal
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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4
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Zeman CJ, Kang G, Kohlstedt KL. Controlling Aggregation-Induced Two-Photon Absorption Enhancement via Intermolecular Interactions. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:45644-45657. [PMID: 36191092 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c12436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Historically, two-photon absorption (2PA) cross sections reported in the literature have been derived from solution-phase measurements. However, such techniques fail to grasp the implications of how these cross sections can be impacted by varying degrees of aggregation or in the condensed phase as bulk solids or thin films. For a precise determination of how aggregation impacts 2PA at a molecular level, computational methods present themselves as ideal. Herein, a series of quadrupolar π-conjugated dyes were simulated by molecular dynamics (MD) in the gas phase and condensed phase. In the condensed phase, their intermolecular interactions and electronic coupling behavior were fully characterized, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Using quadratic-response time-dependent density functional theory, 2PA cross sections of structures derived from MD trajectories were calculated. Comparisons are made between gas-phase and condensed-phase results, and enhancement factors are defined to show how certain dyes may experience changes in their respective 2PA cross sections as a function of aggregation. It was found that these cross sections depend heavily on conformational locking in the condensed phase and relative stacking arrangements. J-aggregates were associated with enhanced 2PA and H-aggregates with quenched 2PA activity. However, in a highly disordered aggregate, the effects of these stacking arrangements are averaged out of the bulk result, and the effects of conformational locking dominate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles J Zeman
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois60208, United States
| | - Gyeongwon Kang
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois60208, United States
| | - Kevin L Kohlstedt
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois60208, United States
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5
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Banin U, Waiskopf N, Hammarström L, Boschloo G, Freitag M, Johansson EMJ, Sá J, Tian H, Johnston MB, Herz LM, Milot RL, Kanatzidis MG, Ke W, Spanopoulos I, Kohlstedt KL, Schatz GC, Lewis N, Meyer T, Nozik AJ, Beard MC, Armstrong F, Megarity CF, Schmuttenmaer CA, Batista VS, Brudvig GW. Nanotechnology for catalysis and solar energy conversion. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2021; 32:042003. [PMID: 33155576 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/abbce8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This roadmap on Nanotechnology for Catalysis and Solar Energy Conversion focuses on the application of nanotechnology in addressing the current challenges of energy conversion: 'high efficiency, stability, safety, and the potential for low-cost/scalable manufacturing' to quote from the contributed article by Nathan Lewis. This roadmap focuses on solar-to-fuel conversion, solar water splitting, solar photovoltaics and bio-catalysis. It includes dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), perovskite solar cells, and organic photovoltaics. Smart engineering of colloidal quantum materials and nanostructured electrodes will improve solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency, as described in the articles by Waiskopf and Banin and Meyer. Semiconductor nanoparticles will also improve solar energy conversion efficiency, as discussed by Boschloo et al in their article on DSSCs. Perovskite solar cells have advanced rapidly in recent years, including new ideas on 2D and 3D hybrid halide perovskites, as described by Spanopoulos et al 'Next generation' solar cells using multiple exciton generation (MEG) from hot carriers, described in the article by Nozik and Beard, could lead to remarkable improvement in photovoltaic efficiency by using quantization effects in semiconductor nanostructures (quantum dots, wires or wells). These challenges will not be met without simultaneous improvement in nanoscale characterization methods. Terahertz spectroscopy, discussed in the article by Milot et al is one example of a method that is overcoming the difficulties associated with nanoscale materials characterization by avoiding electrical contacts to nanoparticles, allowing characterization during device operation, and enabling characterization of a single nanoparticle. Besides experimental advances, computational science is also meeting the challenges of nanomaterials synthesis. The article by Kohlstedt and Schatz discusses the computational frameworks being used to predict structure-property relationships in materials and devices, including machine learning methods, with an emphasis on organic photovoltaics. The contribution by Megarity and Armstrong presents the 'electrochemical leaf' for improvements in electrochemistry and beyond. In addition, biohybrid approaches can take advantage of efficient and specific enzyme catalysts. These articles present the nanoscience and technology at the forefront of renewable energy development that will have significant benefits to society.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Banin
- The Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - N Waiskopf
- The Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - L Hammarström
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - G Boschloo
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - M Freitag
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - E M J Johansson
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - J Sá
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - H Tian
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - M B Johnston
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - L M Herz
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - R L Milot
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - M G Kanatzidis
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
| | - W Ke
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
| | - I Spanopoulos
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
| | - K L Kohlstedt
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
| | - G C Schatz
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
| | - N Lewis
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Beckman Institute, 210 Noyes Laboratory, 127-72 California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States of America
| | - T Meyer
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Chemistry, United States of America
| | - A J Nozik
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, United States of America
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Department of Chemistry, 80309, United States of America
| | - M C Beard
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, United States of America
| | - F Armstrong
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - C F Megarity
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - C A Schmuttenmaer
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, 225 Prospect St, New Haven, CT, 06520-8107, United States of America
| | - V S Batista
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, 225 Prospect St, New Haven, CT, 06520-8107, United States of America
| | - G W Brudvig
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, 225 Prospect St, New Haven, CT, 06520-8107, United States of America
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6
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Balzer D, Smolders TJAM, Blyth D, Hood SN, Kassal I. Delocalised kinetic Monte Carlo for simulating delocalisation-enhanced charge and exciton transport in disordered materials. Chem Sci 2020; 12:2276-2285. [PMID: 34163994 PMCID: PMC8179315 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc04116e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Charge transport is well understood in both highly ordered materials (band conduction) or highly disordered ones (hopping conduction). In moderately disordered materials-including many organic semiconductors-the approximations valid in either extreme break down, making it difficult to accurately model the conduction. In particular, describing wavefunction delocalisation requires a quantum treatment, which is difficult in disordered materials that lack periodicity. Here, we present the first three-dimensional model of partially delocalised charge and exciton transport in materials in the intermediate disorder regime. Our approach is based on polaron-transformed Redfield theory, but overcomes several computational roadblocks by mapping the quantum-mechanical techniques onto kinetic Monte Carlo. Our theory, delocalised kinetic Monte Carlo (dKMC), shows that the fundamental physics of transport in moderately disordered materials is that of charges hopping between partially delocalised electronic states. Our results reveal why standard kinetic Monte Carlo can dramatically underestimate mobilities even in disordered organic semiconductors, where even a little delocalisation can substantially enhance mobilities, as well as showing that three-dimensional calculations capture important delocalisation effects neglected in lower-dimensional approximations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Balzer
- School of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Thijs J A M Smolders
- School of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University 6525 AJ Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - David Blyth
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland St. Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Samantha N Hood
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland St. Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Ivan Kassal
- School of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
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7
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Fornari RP, de Silva P. Unexpectedly Large Couplings Between Orthogonal Units in Anthraquinone Polymers. Chemistry 2019; 25:14651-14658. [PMID: 31509312 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201903227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The unusual electronic properties of directly linked 1,4-polyanthraquinones (14PAQs) are investigated. The dihedral angle between the molecular planes of anthraquinones (AQs) is found to be close to 90°. Contrary to the prevailing notion that the interaction between orthogonal units is negligible due to broken π-electron conjugation, the coupling between neighboring AQ units does not have a minimum at 90° and is much larger than that expected. The unexpectedly large electronic coupling between orthogonal AQ units is explained by the interaction between the lone pairs of the carbonyl oxygen and the π system of the neighboring unit, which allows favorable overlap between frontier molecular orbitals at the orthogonal geometry. It is shown that this effect, which is described computationally for the first time, can be strengthened by adding more quinone units. The effect of thermal fluctuations on the couplings is assessed through ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The distributions of the couplings reveal that electron transport is resilient to dynamic disorder in all systems considered, whereas the hole couplings are much more sensitive to disorder. Lone pair-π interactions are described, as a previously largely overlooked conjugation mechanism, for incorporation into a new class of disorder-resilient semiconducting redox polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocco P Fornari
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Fysikvej 309, 2800 Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Piotr de Silva
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Fysikvej 309, 2800 Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
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8
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Swick SM, Gebraad T, Jones L, Fu B, Aldrich TJ, Kohlstedt KL, Schatz GC, Facchetti A, Marks TJ. Building Blocks for High‐Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics: Interplay of Molecular, Crystal, and Electronic Properties in Post‐Fullerene ITIC Ensembles. Chemphyschem 2019; 20:2608-2626. [DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201900793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Swick
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Tim Gebraad
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Leighton Jones
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Bo Fu
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Thomas J. Aldrich
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Kevin L. Kohlstedt
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - George C. Schatz
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Antonio Facchetti
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
| | - Tobin J. Marks
- Department of Chemistry Northwestern University Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes Evanston Illinois 60208 United States
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9
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Koçak O, Duru IP, Yavuz I. Charge Transfer and Interface Effects in Co‐Assembled Circular Donor/Acceptor Complexes for Organic Photovoltaics. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.201800194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olkan Koçak
- Department of PhysicsMarmara University 34722 Ziverbey Istanbul Turkey
| | - Izzet Paruğ Duru
- Department of PhysicsMarmara University 34722 Ziverbey Istanbul Turkey
| | - Ilhan Yavuz
- Department of PhysicsMarmara University 34722 Ziverbey Istanbul Turkey
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10
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Rice B, Guilbert AAY, Frost JM, Nelson J. Polaron States in Fullerene Adducts Modeled by Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics and Tight Binding. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:6616-6623. [PMID: 30380880 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b02320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Strong electron-phonon coupling leads to polaron localization in molecular semiconductor materials and influences charge transport, but it is expensive to calculate atomistically. Here, we propose a simple and efficient model to determine the energy and spatial extent of polaron states within a coarse-grained representation of a disordered molecular film. We calculate the electronic structure of the molecular assembly using a tight-binding Hamiltonian and determine the polaron state self-consistently by perturbing the site energies by the dielectric response of the surrounding medium to the charge. When applied to fullerene derivatives, the method shows that polarons extend over multiple molecules in C60 but localize on single molecules in higher adducts of phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PCBM) because of packing disorder and the polar side chains. In PCBM, polarons localize on single molecules only when energetic disorder is included or when the fullerene is dispersed in a blend. The method helps to establish the conditions under which a hopping transport model is justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth Rice
- Department of Physics , Imperial College London , London SW7 2BZ , U.K
| | - Anne A Y Guilbert
- Department of Physics , Imperial College London , London SW7 2BZ , U.K
| | - Jarvist M Frost
- Department of Physics , Imperial College London , London SW7 2BZ , U.K
- Department of Physics , King's College London , London WC2R 2LS , U.K
| | - Jenny Nelson
- Department of Physics , Imperial College London , London SW7 2BZ , U.K
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11
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Gali SM, D’Avino G, Aurel P, Han G, Yi Y, Papadopoulos TA, Coropceanu V, Brédas JL, Hadziioannou G, Zannoni C, Muccioli L. Energetic fluctuations in amorphous semiconducting polymers: Impact on charge-carrier mobility. J Chem Phys 2017; 147:134904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4996969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sai Manoj Gali
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires, UMR 5255, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France
- Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, UMR 5629, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Gabriele D’Avino
- Institut Néel, CNRS and Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - Philippe Aurel
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires, UMR 5255, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France
| | - Guangchao Han
- Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Veaceslav Coropceanu
- Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Jean-Luc Brédas
- Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Georges Hadziioannou
- Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, UMR 5629, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Claudio Zannoni
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari,” University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Muccioli
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires, UMR 5255, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari,” University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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12
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Fratini S, Ciuchi S, Mayou D, de Laissardière GT, Troisi A. A map of high-mobility molecular semiconductors. NATURE MATERIALS 2017; 16:998-1002. [PMID: 28892051 DOI: 10.1038/nmat4970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The charge mobility of molecular semiconductors is limited by the large fluctuation of intermolecular transfer integrals, often referred to as off-diagonal dynamic disorder, which causes transient localization of the carriers' eigenstates. Using a recently developed theoretical framework, we show here that the electronic structure of the molecular crystals determines its sensitivity to intermolecular fluctuations. We build a map of the transient localization lengths of high-mobility molecular semiconductors to identify what patterns of nearest-neighbour transfer integrals in the two-dimensional (2D) high-mobility plane protect the semiconductor from the effect of dynamic disorder and yield larger mobility. Such a map helps rationalizing the transport properties of the whole family of molecular semiconductors and is also used to demonstrate why common textbook approaches fail in describing this important class of materials. These results can be used to rapidly screen many compounds and design new ones with optimal transport characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Fratini
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble, France
- CNRS, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - S Ciuchi
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, I-67100 L'Aquila, Italy
- CNR Institute for Complex Systems, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - D Mayou
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble, France
- CNRS, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - G Trambly de Laissardière
- Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modélisation, CNRS, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, F-95302 Cergy-Pontoise, France
| | - A Troisi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, UK
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