Structure-property relationship of anilino-squaraines in organic solar cells

Soluble molecular semiconductors are a promising alternative to semiconducting polymers in the field of organic photovoltaics. Here, three custom-made symmetric 1,3-bis(N,N-alkylated-2,6-dihydroxy-anilino)squaraines containing systematic variations in their molecular structures are compared regarding their applicability as donor materials in bulk-heterojunction solar cells. The terminal substitution pattern of the squaraines is varied from cyclic over linear to branched including a stereogenic center. Single crystal structures are determined, and, in the case of chiral squaraine, unusual formation of stereoisomer co-crystals is revealed. The thin film absorbance spectra show characteristic signatures of H- and J-bands or hint at the formation of tautomers. The general feasibility of these model compounds for photovoltaic applications is studied by light-induced electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The impact of the different molecular substitution patterns on aggregation behavior and, consequently, their optoelectronic solid state properties including charge carrier mobility and finally the solar cell performance are investigated.

Syntheses and properties of zinc and calcium complexes of valinate and isovalinate: metal alpha-amino acidates as possible constituents of the early Earth's chemical inventory

We have studied the ligand behavior of racemic isovalinate (iva) and valinate (val) towards zinc(II) and calcium(II). The following solid metal amino acidates were obtained from aqueous solutions: Zn3Cl2(iva)4 (1), Zn3Cl2(val)4 (2). Zn(val)2 (3), Zn(iva)2 x 2H2O (4), Zn(iva)2 x 3.25H2O (5), Zn(iva)2 (6), Ca(iva)2x xH2O (7), and Ca(val)2 x H2O (8). Except for complex 3, these were hitherto unknown compounds. The conditions under which they formed, together with current ideas of the conditions on early Earth, support the assumption that alpha-amino acidate complexes of zinc and calcium might have belonged to early Earth's prebiotic chemical inventory. The zinc isovalinates 1, 4, and 5 were characterized by X-ray crystal structure analyses. Complex 1 forms a layer structure containing four- and five-coordinate metal atoms, whereas the zinc atoms in 4 and 5 are five-coordinate. Compound 5 possesses an unprecedented nonpolymeric structure built from cyclic [Zn6(iva)12] complexes, which are separated by water molecules. The thermolyses of solids 1. 3, and 8 at 320 degrees C in an N2 atmosphere yielded numerous organic products, including the cyclic dipeptide of valine from 3 and 8. Condensation, C-C bond breaking and bond formation, aromatization, decarboxylation, and deamination reactions occurred during the thermolyses. Such reactions of metal-bound a-amino acidates that are abiotically formed could already have contributed to an organic-geochemical diversity before life appeared on Earth.

Complete defluorination of 1,2,3,4-tetramethyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)cyclopentadiene by titanium tetrakis(dimethylamide)--selective formation of a cyclic hexanuclear titanium fluoroamide and 6,6-dimethylaminotetramethylfulvene

1,2,3,4-Tetramethyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)cyclopentadiene (Cp*CF3-H, 1) reacts with [Ti(NMe2)4] (2) under mild conditions to give [Ti(mu-NMe2)(NMe2)(mu-F)(F)]6 (3) in nearly quantitative yield. The molecular structure of 3 consists of a ring of six [TiF2(NMe2)2] edge-bridged octahedra. Titanium complexes containing the Cp*CF3 ligand, which was the primary intention of these investigations, were not observed. C5Me4=C(NMe2)2 (4) was isolated as a by-product. The complete defluorination of an aliphatic CF3 group occurs during the reaction. The reaction mechanism involves the primary formation of a difluorofulvene intermediate C5Me4=CF2 (5), which was monitored by NMR studies. Density functional theory calculations predict a highly charged C6 atom (+0.87) in 5, which is discussed as the driving force of the reaction.