Showing papers by "Rajendra R. Zope published in 2013"

Effect of geometrical orientation on the charge-transfer energetics of supramolecular (tetraphenyl)-porphyrin∕C60 dyads

Abstract: The charge transfer (CT) excited state energies of donor-acceptor (D∕A) pairs determine the achievable open-circuit voltage of D∕A-based organic solar cell devices. Changes in the relative orientation of donor-acceptor pairs at the interface influence the frontier orbital energy levels, which impacts the dissociation of bound excitons at the D∕A-interface. We examine the effect of relative orientation on CT excited state energies of porphyrin-fullerene dyads. The donors studied are base- and Zn-tetraphenyl porphyrin coupled to C60 as the acceptor molecule in an end-on configuration. We compare the energetics of a few low-lying CT states for the end-on geometry to our previously calculated CT energetics of a co-facial orientation. The calculated CT excitation energies are larger for the end-on orientation in comparison to the co-facial structure by about 0.7 eV, which primarily occurs due to a decrease in exciton binding energy in going from the co-facial to the end-on orientation. Furthermore, changes in relative donor-acceptor orientation have a larger impact on the CT energies than changes in donor-acceptor distance.

The Effect of Structural Conformational Changes on Charge Transfer States in a Light-Harvesting Carotenoid-diaryl-Porphyrin-C60 Molecular Triad

Abstract: We present a detailed study of charge transfer (CT) excited states for a large number of structural conformations in a light-harvesting Carotenoid-diaryl-Porphyrin-C60 (CPC60) molecular triad. The molecular triad undergoes a photoinduced charge transfer process exhibiting a large excited state dipole moment, making it suitable for application to molecular-scale opto-electronic devices. An important consideration is that the conformational flexibility of the CPC 60 triad impacts its dynamics in solvents. Since experimentally measured dipole moments for the triad of ~110 Debye (D) and ~160 Debye strongly indicate a range in conformational variability for the triad in the excited state, studying the effect of conformational changes on the CT excited state energetics furthers the understanding of its charge transfer states. We have calculated the lowest CT excited state energies for a series of 14 triad conformers, where the structural conformations were generated by incrementally scanning a 360 degree torsional (dihedral) twist at the C60-porhyrin linkage and the porphyrin-carotenoid linkage. Additionally, five different CPC60 conformations were studied to determine the effect of pi-conjugation and particle-hole Coulombic attraction on the CT excitation energies. Our calculations show that structural conformational changes in the triad show a variation of ~0.4 eV in CT excited state energies in the gas-phase. The corresponding calculated excited state dipoles show a range of 88 D - 188 D.

Smooth Scaling of Valence Electronic Properties in Fullerenes: From One Carbon Atom, to C60, to Graphene

Abstract: Scaling of quantum capacitances and valence electron detachment energies is studied for icosahedral and nonicosahedral fullerenes. Scaling trends are considered from zero to infinite average radius, where a fullerene's local surface properties are similar to those of graphene. Detailed density-functional-theory calculations are performed to determine the geometries and detachment energies of icosahedral fullerenes, while values of these quantities are obtained for nonicosahedral species from previously published experimental results. Strongly linear, quasiclassical scaling versus average radii ${\overline{r}}_{n}$ is seen for the quantum capacitances, but on two different scaling lines for icosahedral and nonicosahedral species, respectively. By contrast, nonclassical, nonlinear scaling versus $1/{\overline{r}}_{n}$ is seen for the electron detachment energies, i.e., the valence ionization potentials and electron affinities. This nonlinearity is not accounted for by classical theories that are used to explain trends in electronic properties of fullerenes and usually give accurate quantitative estimates. Instead, simple quantum equations are derived to account for nonlinearities in the metal-particle-like electron detachment energy scaling and to show that these are responsible for nonclassical, nonzero intercepts in the capacitance scaling lines of the fullerenes. Last, it is found that points representing the carbon atom and the graphene limit lie on scaling lines for icosahedral fullerenes, so their quantum capacitances and their detachment energies scale smoothly from one C atom, to C${}_{60}$, to graphene.

Electronic structure and charge transfer excited states of a multichromophoric antenna

Abstract: The electronic structure of a multichromophoric molecular complex containing two of each borondipyrromethane dye, Zn-tetraphenyl-porphyrin, bisphenyl anthracene and a fullerene are studied using density functional theory. The snowflake shaped molecule behaves like an antenna capturing photon at different frequencies and transferring the photon energy to the porphyrin where electron transfer occurs from the porphyrin to the fullerene. Molecular structure of this large complex is first optimized using plane wave projector augmented wave methodology. Subsequent electronic structure calculations are performed using the real space methodology using an all electron pseudopotential basis set containing total of 12478 basis functions. The results show that the HOMO and a state below the HOMO are primarily localized on one of the porphyrins while the LUMO resides mainly on the fullerene component of the complex. The energies of the HOMO and LUMO states in the complex, as adjudged by the ionization potential and the electron affinity values, show significant differences with respect to their values in participating subunits in isolation. We have systematically examined the effect of structural strain and the presence of ligands on the ionization energy and the electron affinity. Finally, we have calculated a few lowest charge transfer energies involving electronic transitions from a the porphyrin component to the fullerene subunit of the complex using the perturbative delta-SCF method. Our predicted value of the lowest charge transfer excited state (1.67 eV) is comparable to the experimental estimate of the charge transfer energy of a similar complex.