Bao-Hui Xia

DFT/TD‐DFT investigation on Ir(III) complexes with N‐heterocyclic carbene ligands: Geometries, electronic structures, absorption, and phosphorescence properties

Iridium(III) complexes with N‐heterocyclic (NHC) ligands including fac‐Ir(pmb)3 (1), mer‐Ir(pmb)3 (2), (pmb)2Ir(acac) (3), mer‐Ir(pypi)3 (4), and fac‐Ir(pypi)3 (5) [pmb = 1‐phenyl‐3H‐benzimidazolin‐2‐ylidene, acac = acetoylacetonate, pypi = 1‐phenyl‐5H‐benzimidazolin‐2‐ylidene; fac = facial, mer = meridional] were investigated theoretically. The geometry structures of 1–5 in the ground and excited state were optimized with restricted and unrestricted DFT (density functional theory) methods, respectively (LANL2DZ for Ir atom and 6‐31G for other atoms). The HOMOs (highest occupied molecular orbitals) of 1–3 are composed of d(Ir) and π(phenyl), while those of 4 and 5 are contributed by d(Ir) and π(carbene). The LUMOs (lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals) of 1, 2, 4, and 5 are localized on carbene, but that of 3 is localized on acac. The calculated lowest‐lying absorptions with TD‐DFT method based on Perdew‐Burke‐Erzenrhof (PBE) functional of 1 (310 nm), 2 (332 nm), and 3 (347 nm) have MLcarbeneCT/ILphenyl→carbeneCT (MLCT = metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer; ILCT = intraligand charge transfer) transition characters, whereas those of 4 (385 nm) and 5 (389 nm) are assigned to MLcarbeneCT/ILcarbene→carbeneCT transitions. The phosphorescences calculated by TD‐DFT method with PBE0 functional of 1 (386 nm) and 2 (388 nm) originate from 3MLcarbeneCT/3ILphenyl→carbeneCT excited states, but those of 4 (575 nm) and 5 (578 nm) come from 3MLcarbeneCT/3ILcarbene→carbeneCT excited states. The calculated results showed that the carbene and phenyl groups act as two independent chromophores in transition processes. Compared with 1 and 2, the absorptions of 4 and 5 are red‐shifted by increasing the effective π‐conjugation groups near the Ccarbene atom. We predicated that (pmb)2Ir(acac) is nonemissive, because the LUMO of 3 is contributed by the nonemissive acac ligand.

Efficient blue-emitting Ir(III) complexes with phosphine carbanion-based ancillary ligand: a DFT study.

We report a theoretical study on a series of heteroleptic cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes for OLED application. The geometries, electronic structures, and the lowest-lying singlet absorptions and triplet emissions of [(fppy)(2)Ir(III)(PPh(2)Np)] (1), and theoretically designed models [(fppy)(2)Ir(III)(PH(2)Np)] (2) and [(fppy)(2)Ir(III)Np](-)(3) were investigated with density functional theory (DFT)-based approaches, where, fppyH = 4-fluorophenyl-pyridine and NpH = naphthalene. The ground and excited states were, respectively, optimized at the M062X/LanL2DZ;6-31G* and CIS/LanL2DZ:6-31G* level of theory within CH(2)Cl(2) solution provided by PCM. The lowest absorptions and emissions were evaluated at M062X/Stuttgart;cc-pVTZ;cc-pVDZ level of theory. Though the lowest absorptions and emissions were all attributed as the ligand-based charge-transfer transition with slight metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transition character, the subtle differences in geometries and electronic structures result in the different quantum yields and versatile emission color. The newly designed molecular 3 is expected to be highly emissive in deep blue region.

Mechanism of Ir(ppy)2(N--N)+ (N--N = 2-phenyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline) sensor for F-, CF3COOH, and CH3COO-: density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory studies.

The geometries, electronic structures, and spectroscopic properties of Ir(ppy)2(N--N)(+) (1) (N--N = 2-phenyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, ppy = 2-phenylpyridine), Ir(ppy)2(N--N)(+) x F(-) (2), Ir(ppy)2(N--N)(+) x CF3COOH (3/3a), and Ir(ppy)2(N--N)(+) x CH3COO(-) (4) were investigated theoretically. The ground and the excited state geometries of 1-4 were optimized at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ and UB3LYP/LANL2DZ levels, respectively. The optimized geometries agree well with the corresponding experimental results. The HOMOs of 1-4 and 3a are composed of pi(ppy) and d(Ir), and the LUMOs of 1, 2, 3a, and 4 are contributed by pi*(N--N), whereas the LUMO of 3 is composed of pi*(N--N) and pi*(CF3COOH). Under the time-dependent density functional theory level with polarized continuum model model, the absorption and phosphorescence in CH2Cl2 media were calculated on the basis of the optimized ground and excited state geometries, respectively. The lowest-lying absorptions of 1 (412 nm) and 3/3a (409/419 nm) have MLCT/LLCT transition characters, and those of 2 (448 nm) and 4 (427 nm) are contributed by ILCT character. The calculated lowest-energy triplet excited states responsible for phosphorescence of 1 (519 nm) and 3/3a (661/702 nm) have mixing (3)MLCT/(3)LLCT/(3)ILCT characters, but those of 2 and 4 only have (3)ILCT but without (3)MLCT character, which is the reason for the no-emissive character of 2 and 4. Moreover, the phosphorescence character of 3 is hardly changed by different addition sites of CF3COOH group (3a). The calculated results also showed that complex 1 is more suitable for an F(-) sensor than for CF3COOH and CH3COO(-) sensors.

Electronic structures and spectroscopic properties of nitrido-osmium(VI) complexes with acetylide ligands [OsN(CCR)4]− RH, CH3, and Ph by density functional theory calculation

Electronic structures and spectroscopic properties of a series of nitrido-osmium (VI) complex ions with acetylide ligands, [OsN(CCR)4]− (RH, (1), CH3 (2), and Ph (3)) were investigated theoretically. The structures of the complexes were fully optimized at the B3LYP and CIS level for the ground states and excited states, respectively. The calculated bond lengths of OsN (1.639A in 1, 1.642A in 2, and 1.643A in 3) and Os–C (2.040A in 1, 2.043A in 2, and 2.042A in 3) in ground state agree well with the experimental results. The bond length of OsN bond is lengthened by ca. 0.13A in the AB23 excited state compared to the A11 ground state, which is consistent with the lower vibration frequency of ν(Os–N) (∼780cm−1) in the excited state than that (∼1175cm−1) in the ground state. Among the calculated dipole-allowed absorptions at λ>250nm, the intense absorption at 261nm for 1, 266nm for 2, and 300nm for 3 were attributed to the [π(CC)]1→[π*(NOs)+π*(CC)]1, [π(CC)]1→[π*(NOs)+π*(CC)]1, and [π(CCPh)]1→[π*(N...

Accurate simulation of geometry, singlet-singlet and triplet-singlet excitation of cyclometalated iridium(III) complex

AbstractIn the current contribution, we present a critical study of the theoretical protocol used for the determination of the electronic spectra properties of luminescent cyclometalated iridium(III) complex, [Ir(III)(ppy)2H2dcbpy]+ (where, ppy = 2-phenylpyridine, H2dcbpy = 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid), considered as a representative example of the various problems related to the prediction of electronic spectra of transition metal complex. The choice of the exchange-correlation functional is crucial for the validity of the conclusions that would be drawn from the numerical results. The influence of the exchange-correlation on geometry parameter and absorption/emission band, the role of solvent effects on time-dependent density function theory (TD-DFT) calculations, as well as the importance of the chosen proper procedure to optimize triplet excited geometry, have been thus examined in detail. From the obtained results, some general conclusions and guidelines are presented: i) PBE0 functional is the most accurate in prediction of ground state geometry; ii) the well-established B3LYP, B3P86, PBE0, and X3LYP have similar accuracy in calculation of absorption spectrum; and iii) the hybrid approach TD-DFT//CIS gives out excellent agreement in the evaluation of triplet excitation energy. FigureGeometry, singlet-singlet and triplet-singlet excitations of cyclometalated iridium(III) complex

Theoretical analysis on magnetic properties of conjugated organic molecules containing borepin

Theoretical study about the magnetic properties of conjugated organic molecules containing borepin with π current density was carried out. 1-(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)borepin moiety is the center and other different groups are situated on the both β sides, which are named molecules 1–12 as theoretical model in order to establish the relationship between aromaticity and geometry variation of borepin. The optimized molecular structures of molecules 1–12 are almost keeping planar and the C2–C3 bond length of borepin turns longer from molecule 1 to molecule 12. Different borepin-annulated ring could change the conjugated effect of π-electron between borepin and these bore-pin-annulated rings. Moreover, the molecule presents antiaromaticity, in other words, the molecule became unstable when the C2–C3 bond length of borepin extended more than ca. 0.1417 nm. But the β position fragment and substituent groups of borepin are not affected in this case, they are still steady. However, the central borepin ring current is counteracted by symmetrical overlap of it with affiliated borepin-annulated ring current. Hence, the central borepin ring breaking would be liable to occur. These molecules have higher vertical ionization potentials(VIPs) and lower vertical electron affinities(VEAs), which suggests that these molecules could easily exist in anionic form.

Theoretical studies on the electronic structures and optical properties of the thiophene oligomer containing 2-(trifluoromethyl) thieno [3, 4-b] thiophene moiety and the CF3 end-caps

Structural, electronic, and optical properties of a series of π-conjugated thiophene oligomers P1-P3 and CF3P1-CF3P3 have been theoretically investigated. P1-P3 contain the 2- (trifluoromethyl) thieno [3, 4-b] thiophene moiety as the centre and 1–3 repeating thiophene units adjacent to its two sides respectively, while their corresponding derivatives CF3P1-CF3P3 with the CF3 as end-caps. The geometric structures of the oligomers in the ground and excited state were optimized by PBE1PBE and CIS methods with 6–31G (d) basis sets, respectively. All the oligomers exhibit zigzag arrangements. The absorptions and emissions were calculated by the time-dependent density functional theory method (TD-PBE1PBE). The lowest-lying absorptions of all the oligomers can be characterized as π-π* electron transition. For each series of oligomers, there is a progressive lowering in HOMO-LUMO gap with the increase of the repeating unit, being consistent with the red-shifted trend in the lowest-lying absorption and fluorescence from P1 to P3 and CF3P1 to CF3P3. To compare the P- and corresponding CF3P-oligomers, the end-cap CF3 group causes the slight blue shifts in absorption and emission spectra. The ionization potentials (IPS), electron affinities (EAs), and reorganization energies (λ) as well as the hole/electron extraction energies (HEP/EEP) of the oligomers were explored and those of the corresponding polymer were obtained by extrapolation method. The IP and HEP of P-polymer are lower than those of CF3P-polymer, indicating that the P-polymer is more suitable for hole transport than CF3P-polymer, while the higher EA and EEP for CF3P-polymer suggest the better electron transfer property. For CF3 end-caps, the CF3P-polymer exhibits the equal reorganization energy between electron and hole, which is a precondition for the charge transfer balance.