Electrochemical and optical properties of molecular triads based on triphenylamine, diketopyrrolopyrrole and boron-dipyrromethene

Molecular design of D-π-A-π-D small molecule donor materials with narrow energy gap for organic solar cells applications

CONTEXT

Developing novel materials present a great challenge to improve the photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this paper, we designed a series of the donor-π bridge-acceptor-π bridge-donor (D-π-A-π-D) structure molecules. These molecules consist of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) moiety as core, 9-hexyl-carbazole moiety as terminal groups, and different planar electron-rich aromatic groups as π-bridges. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) computations showed that the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energy levels, energy gaps, electron-driving forces (ΔEL-L), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), reorganization energy (λ), exciton binding energy (Eb), and absorption spectra of the designed molecules can be effectively adjusted by the introduction of different π-bridges. The designed molecules have narrow energy gap and strong absorption spectra, which are beneficial for improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of organic solar cells. In addition, the designed molecules possess large ΔEL-L, large Voc, and FF values and low Eb when the typical fullerene derivatives are used as acceptors. The FMO energy levels of the designed molecules can provide match well with the typical fullerene acceptors PC61BM, bisPC61BM, and PC71BM. Our results suggest that the designed molecules are expected to be promising donor materials for OSCs.

METHODS

All DFT and TD-DFT calculations were carried out using the Gaussian 09 code. The computational technique chosen was the hybrid functional B3LYP and the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The benzene and chloroform solvent effects have been considered using the polarized continuum model (PCM) at the TD-DFT level. The simulated absorption spectra of designed molecules were plotted by using the GaussSum 1.0 program.

Singlet Fission in Thin Solid Films of Bis(thienyl)diketopyrrolopyrroles

The singlet fission (SF) process discovered in bis(thienyl)diketopyrrolopyrroles (TDPPs) can boost their potential for photovoltaics (PV). The crystal structures of TDPP analogs carrying n-hexyl, n-butyl, or 2-(adamant-1-yl)ethyl substituents are similar, but contain increasingly slipped stacked neighbor molecules. The observed SF rate constants, k_SF , (7±4), (9±3) and (5.6±1.9) ns^-1 for thin films of the three compounds, respectively, are roughly equal, but the triplet quantum yields vary strongly: (120±40), (160±40) and (70±16), respectively. The recent molecular pair model reproduces the near equality of all three k_SF at the crystal geometries and identifies all possible pair arrangements in which SF is predicted to be faster, by up to two orders of magnitude. However, it is also clear that the presently non-existent ability to predict the rates of processes competing with SF is pivotal for providing a guide for efforts to optimize the materials for PV.

Controlling and Fine-Tuning Charge-Transfer Emission in 2,6-Dicyanoaniline Multichromophores Prepared through Domino Reactions: Entry to a Potentially New Class of OLEDs

Substituted 2,6-dicyanoanilines are versatile electron donor-acceptor compounds, which have recently received considerable attention, since they exhibit strong fluorescence and may have utility in the synthesis of fluorescent materials, non-natural photosynthetic systems, and materials with nonlinear optical properties. The majority of known synthetic procedures are, however, "stop-and-go" reaction processes involving time-consuming and waste-producing isolation and purification of product intermediates. Here, we present the synthesis of substituted 2,6-dicyanoanilines via atom-economical and eco-friendly one-pot processes, involving metal-free domino reactions, and their subsequent photochemical and photophysical measurements and theoretical calculations. These studies exhibit the existence of an easily tunable radical ion pair-based charge-transfer (CT) emission in the synthesized 2,6-dicyanoaniline-based electron donor-acceptor systems. The charge-transfer processes were explored by photochemical and radiation chemical measurements, in particular, based on femtosecond laser photolysis transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, accompanied by pulse radiolysis and complemented by quantum chemical investigations employing time-dependent density-functional theory. This chromophore class exhibits a broad-wavelength-range fine-tunable charge recombination emission with high photoluminescence quantum yields up to 0.98. Together with its rather simple and cost-effective synthesis (using easily available starting materials) and customizable properties, it renders this class of compounds feasible candidates as potential dyes for future optoelectronic devices like organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

Porphyrin–diketopyrrolopyrrole conjugates and related structures: Synthesis, properties and applications

A large diversity of porphyrin–diketopyrrolopyrrole conjugates and related structures formed by diketopyrrolopyrrole units and pyrrole-based moieties such as phthalocyanine, porphycene, calix[4]pyrrole or BODIPY have been reported since 2010. The new compounds, whether small molecules or polymeric materials, exhibit very interesting photophysical properties and have been tested in a range of technical or biological applications. This review summarizes the advances in the synthesis of such compounds. Their photophysical properties and potential applications are also briefly discussed.

Near-infrared absorbing tetracyanobutadiene-bridged diketopyrrolopyrroles

Herein we have synthesized near-infra red absorbing TCBD bridged diketopyrrolopyrroles by a [2+2] cycloaddition–retroelectrocyclization reaction in order to see the effects of end capping donors and electron-withdrawing TCBD on the optical and electrochemical properties.

Controlling charge separation and recombination by chemical design in donor–acceptor dyads

Conjugated donor–acceptor block co-oligomers that self-organize into D–A mesomorphic arrays have raised increasing interest due to their potential applications in organic solar cells.

Photoinduced energy and charge transfer in a bis(triphenylamine)–BODIPY–C60 artificial photosynthetic system

The bis(triphenylamine)–BODIPY–C₆₀ artificial photosynthetic system has been prepared and studied for its photoinduced transfer processes in polar and nonpolar solvents using various steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques.