Theoretical study on p-type D-π-A sensitizers with modified π-spacers for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Based on a prototype sensitizer W2, we designed triarylamine-based p-type sensitizers W2-1 to W2-7 that contain modified π-spacers (π'), a π-spacer and two anchors. For W2-1 to W2-4, instead of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole in W2, thieno[3,4-b]-1,4-dioxin, thiophene, thieno[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadizole, thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole are π' and thiophene as π-spacer. For W2-5 to W2-8, π' and π are same, with 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole, thieno[3,4-b]-1,4-dioxin, thieno[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazo, thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole, respectively, as the π'-spacers. Structure optimization, electronic level and absorption characters were calculated with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311G (d,p). The solvent effect was involved using a polarized continuum model in chloroform. The results showed that the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital guarantee sufficient hole injection (lower than -0.2 eV), and dye regeneration (lower than -0.2 eV). W2-4 has higher light-harvesting efficiency (LHE) (0.994) and larger overlap with the visible light from 400 nm to 600 nm. Finally, the results suggest that the driving force of hole injection, dye regeneration and charge recombination (ΔGinj, ΔGreg and ΔGCR) of W2-4 are the best, with more negative ΔGinj (-4.33), ΔGreg (-1.74) and more positive ΔGCR (1.92). Replacing 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole with thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole as π'-spacers is a effective way to improve the performance of the dyes. An introduction of thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole group can improve the absorption ability and hinder charge recombination. Graphical abstract Absorption spectra of p-type D-π-A sensitizers with modified π-spacers.

Theoretical investigation of fluorination effect on the charge carrier transport properties of fused anthra-tetrathiophene and its derivatives.

The crystal structures of known anthra-tetrathiophene (ATT) and its three fluorinated derivatives (ATT1, ATT2 and ATT3) were predicted by the Monte Carlo-simulated annealing method with the embedded electrostatic potential (ESP) charges. The most stable crystal structures were further optimized by the density functional theory with the dispersion energy (DFT-D) method. In addition, the effect of the electron-withdrawing fluorine atoms on the molecular geometry, molecular stacking, electronic and transport properties of title compounds were investigated by the density functional theory and the incoherent charge-hopping model. The calculated results show that the introduction of fluorine atoms does not affect the molecular planarity but decreases the HOMO-LUMO gap, which is beneficial to electron injection and provides more charge carrier stabilization. The improved electron mobility from ATT to ATT3 is attributed to the favorable molecular packing with strong π-π interaction and the short stacking distance. ATT2 and ATT3 exhibit remarkable angular dependence of mobilities and anisotropic behaviors. The band structures reveal that all the paths with larger transfer integrals are along the directions of large dispersions in the valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB). ATT3 has the largest electron mobility (0.48 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1)) among the four compounds, indicating that fluorination is an effective approach to improve electron transport.

Vibrational and electronic absorption spectral studies of 5-amino-1-(4-bromophenyl)-3-phenyl-1-H-pyrazole.

The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of 5-amino-1-(4-bromophenyl)-3-phenyl-1-H-pyrazole have been measured in the regions 4000-400 cm(-1) and 3500-100 cm(-1), respectively. The equilibrium geometry, bonding features and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been carried out with the help of DFT method. The assignments of the vibrational spectra have been carried out with the normal coordinate analysis (NCA) following the scaled quantum mechanical force field methodology (SQMFF). The first-order hyperpolarizability (ß(0)) and related properties (µ, α(0), and Δα) of 5A4BP3PP are calculated by using HF/6-31G(d,p) method on the finite field approach. Stability of the molecule arising from hyperconjugative interactions, charge delocalization have been analyzed using natural bonding orbital (NBO) analysis. The results show that electron density (ED) in the σ(*) and π(*) antibonding orbitals and second order delocalization energies E(2) confirms the occurrence of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) within the molecule. UV-vis spectrum of the compound was recorded and the electronic properties, such as HOMO and LUMO energies, were performed by TDDFT using 6-31G(d,p). The HOMO-LUMO calculations indicating the charge transfer takes place within the molecule.

Vibrational and electronic spectra of 5-Acetyluracil - an experimental and theoretical study.

The vibrational and electronic properties of 5-Acetyluracil have been investigated in the ground state using experimental techniques (FT-IR, FT-Raman and UV spectra) and density functional theory (DFT) employing B3LYP exchange correlation with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The theoretically calculated optimized parameters, vibrational frequencies, etc., were compared with the experimental values, which yield good agreement between the observed and calculated values. The complete assignments of fundamental modes were performed on the basis of the potential energy distribution (PED). UV-vis spectrum of the compound was recorded in the region of 300-700 nm and compared with the theoretical spectrum obtained from time-dependent DFT(TD-DFT). Fluorescence microscopic imaging studies proved that the compound can be used as one of the potential light sources in the green region.