Yuanping Yi

Novel Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Materials–Thioxanthone Derivatives and Their Applications for Highly Efficient OLEDs

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters with small energy gap between the triplet and singlet (ΔEST ), TXO-PhCz and TXO-TPA, have been successfully synthesized by combining a hole-transporting TPA/PhCz moiety and an electron-transporting TXO moiety. Both compounds display efficient solid-state luminescence with an efficient up-conversion of the triplet to singlet. OLEDs based on them exhibt high performance up to 21.5%, which is among the best reported for OLEDs.

Exciton-Dissociation and Charge-Recombination Processes in Pentacene/C60 Solar Cells: Theoretical Insight into the Impact of Interface Geometry

The exciton-dissociation and charge-recombination processes in organic solar cells based on pentacene/C(60) heterojunctions are investigated by means of quantum-mechanical calculations. The electronic couplings and the rates of exciton dissociation and charge recombination have been evaluated for several geometrical configurations of the pentacene/C(60) complex, which are relevant to bilayer and bulk heterojunctions. The results suggest that, irrespective of the actual pentacene-fullerene orientation, both pentacene-based and C(60)-based excitons are able to dissociate efficiently. Also, in the case of parallel configurations of the molecules at the pentacene/C(60) interface, the decay of the lowest charge-transfer state to the ground state is calculated to be very fast; as a result, it can compete with the dissociation process into mobile charge carriers. Since parallel configurations are expected to be found more frequently in bulk heterojunctions than in bilayer heterojunctions, the performance of pentacene/C(60) bulk-heterojunction solar cells is likely to be more affected by charge recombination than that of bilayer devices.

Improving the efficiency of solution processable organic photovoltaic devices by a star-shaped molecular geometry

A new solution processable star-shaped organic molecule S(TPA-BT) has been synthesized for application in organic solar cells (OSCs). The properties and structures of S(TPA-BT) and a related linear molecule L(TPA-BT) were studied, including UV-visible spectroscopy, hole charge mobility, and theoretical calculated geometry and electronic properties. S(TPA-BT) film shows a broader and stronger absorption band in the range of 440–670 nm, lower band gap of 1.86 eV, higher hole mobility of 4.71 × 10−5 cm2V−1 s−1 and better film-forming properties compared with those of L(TPA-BT) film. ITO/PEDOT:PSS/S(TPA-BT) or L(TPA-BT):PCBM/Ba/Al bulk-heterojunction OSCs were fabricated with S(TPA-BT) or L(TPA-BT) as donor material. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of an OSC based on a blend of S(TPA-BT) and PCBM (1 : 3, w/w) reached 1.33% under A.M. 1.5 illumination, 100 mW cm−2, with a short-circuit current density (JSC) of 4.18 mA cm−2, an open circuit voltage of 0.81 V, and a fill factor of 39%. The PCE of 1.33% and Jsc of 4.18 mA cm−2 are among the highest values reported so far for solution processable OSCs.

Prediction of Remarkable Ambipolar Charge-Transport Characteristics in Organic Mixed-Stack Charge-Transfer Crystals

We have used density functional theory calculations and mixed quantum/classical dynamics simulations to study the electronic structure and charge-transport properties of three representative mixed-stack charge-transfer crystals, DBTTF-TCNQ, DMQtT-F(4)TCNQ, and STB-F(4)TCNQ. The compounds are characterized by very small effective masses and modest electron-phonon couplings for both holes and electrons. The hole and electron transport characteristics are found to be very similar along the stacking directions; for example, in the DMQtT-F(4)TCNQ crystal, the hole and electron effective masses are as small as 0.20 and 0.26 m(0), respectively. This similarity arises from the fact that the electronic couplings of both hole and electron are controlled by the same superexchange mechanism. Remarkable ambipolar charge-transport properties are predicted for all three crystals. Our calculations thus provide strong indications that mixed-stack donor-acceptor materials represent a class of systems with high potential in organic electronics.

Ternary Organic Solar Cells Based on Two Compatible Nonfullerene Acceptors with Power Conversion Efficiency >10%

Two different nonfullerene acceptors and one copolymer are used to fabricate ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). The two acceptors show unique interactions that reduce crystallinity and form a homogeneous mixed phase in the blend film, leading to a high efficiency of ≈10.3%, the highest performance reported for nonfullerene ternary blends. This work provides a new approach to fabricate high-performance OSCs.

A two-dimensional π–d conjugated coordination polymer with extremely high electrical conductivity and ambipolar transport behaviour

Currently, studies on organic two-dimensional (2D) materials with special optic-electronic properties are attracting great research interest. However, 2D organic systems possessing promising electrical transport properties are still rare. Here a highly crystalline thin film of a copper coordination polymer, Cu-BHT (BHT=benzenehexathiol), is prepared via a liquid–liquid interface reaction between BHT/dichloromethane and copper(II) nitrate/H2O. The morphology and structure characterization reveal that this film is piled up by nanosheets of 2D lattice of [Cu3(C6S6)]n, which is further verified by quantum simulation. Four-probe measurements show that the room temperature conductivity of this material can reach up to 1,580 S cm−1, which is the highest value ever reported for coordination polymers. Meanwhile, it displays ambipolar charge transport behaviour and extremely high electron and hole mobilities (99 cm2 V−1 s−1 for holes and 116 cm2 V−1 s−1 for electrons) under field-effect modulation.

Graphdiyne Oxides as Excellent Substrate for Electroless Deposition of Pd Clusters with High Catalytic Activity

Graphdiyne (GDY), a novel kind of two-dimensional carbon allotrope consisting of sp- and sp(2)-hybridized carbon atoms, is found to be able to serve as the reducing agent and stabilizer for electroless deposition of highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles owing to its low reduction potential and highly conjugated electronic structure. Furthermore, we observe that graphdiyne oxide (GDYO), the oxidation form of GDY, can be used as an even excellent substrate for electroless deposition of ultrafine Pd clusters to form Pd/GDYO nanocomposite that exhibits a high catalytic performance toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The high catalytic performance is considered to benefit from the rational design and electroless deposition of active metal catalysts with GDYO as the support.

Excited state radiationless decay process with Duschinsky rotation effect: Formalism and implementation

Duschinsky rotation effect is a simple and effective way to characterize the difference between the ground state and excited state potential energy surfaces. For complex molecules, harmonic oscillator model is still the practical way to describe the dynamics of excited states. Based on the first-order perturbation theory a la Fermi golden rule, the authors have applied the path integral of Gaussian type for the correlation function to derive an analytic formalism to calculate the internal conversion rate process with Duschinsky rotation effect being taken into account. The validity of their formalism is verified through comparison with previous work, both analytically for the case of neglecting Duschinsky rotation and numerically for the ethylene molecules with two-mode mixing. Their expression is derived for multimode mixing.

A comparative theoretical study of exciton-dissociation and charge-recombination processes in oligothiophene/fullerene and oligothiophene/perylenediimide complexes for organic solar cells

The exciton-dissociation and charge-recombination processes in donor–acceptor complexes found in α-sexithienyl/C60 and α-sexithienyl/perylenetetracarboxydiimide (PDI) solar cells are investigated by means of quantum-chemical methods. The electronic couplings and exciton-dissociation and charge-recombination rates have been evaluated for various configurations of the complexes. The results suggest that the decay of the lowest charge-transfer state to the ground state in the PDI-based devices: (i) is faster than that in the fullerene-based devices and (ii) in most cases, can compete with the dissociation of the charge-transfer state into mobile charge carriers. This faster charge-recombination process is consistent with the lower performance observed experimentally for the devices using PDI derivatives as the acceptor.

Unusual Aggregation‐Induced Emission of a Coumarin Derivative as a Result of the Restriction of an Intramolecular Twisting Motion

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is commonly observed for propeller-like luminogens with aromatic rotors and stators. Herein, we report that a coumarin derivative containing a seven-membered aliphatic ring (CD-7) but no rotors showed typical AIE characteristics, whereas its analogue with a five-membered aliphatic ring (CD-5) exhibited an opposite aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect. Experimental and theoretical results revealed that a large aliphatic ring in CD-7 weakens structural rigidity and promotes out-of-plane twisting of the molecular backbone to drastically accelerate nonradiative excited-state decay, thus resulting in poor emission in solution. The restriction of twisting motion in aggregates blocks the nonradiative decay channels and enables CD-7 to fluoresce strongly. The results also show that AIE is a general phenomenon and not peculiar to propeller-like molecules. The AIE and ACQ effects can be switched readily by the modulation of molecular rigidity.