Distyrylbenzene-based semi-conducting molecular material for OLED applications: Synthesis, characterization and TD-DFT calculations

Abstract

New semi-conducting molecular materiel (M-DSB) based on the distyrylbenzene π-conjugated system was synthesized via the Wittig reaction. The structural properties of M-DSB, displaying three different stereoisomers E-E, Z-Z and Z-E, were investigated through density functional theory (DFT) optimization. The detailed TD-DFT analysis provided insights into the structure-property relationships and revealed good agreement with experimental data. This photoactive material exhibits nearly the same UV–visible spectra in dilute solution and as solid thin film, with a maximum absorption at 363 nm and an optical gap of 2.99 eV. A broad and red-shifted photoluminescence spectrum was obtained in the solid state with blue emission compared to the solution which shows purplish blue emission with relatively narrow emission. The HOMO/LUMO energy levels were calculated by cyclic voltammetry measurements and indicate a p-type semiconductor material. The temperature and frequency dependence of the conductivity shows an activation energy value of about 0.89 eV for the M-DSB thin layer. Impedance spectroscopy of the ITO/M-DSB/Al device indicates a typical behavior of a single relaxation process and confirms that the electrical response becomes faster and the mobility of the charge carriers is enhanced by increasing the temperature.