Quamtum Mechanical Study on Structural and Electronic Properties of Tert-Butyl Based Bridged Dithiophene Oxide Derivatives

Abstract

Computational modeling is vital to designing and creating organic semiconductors used in solar cells, organic field-effect transistors, and other areas. This work studied the structural and electronic features of a group of substituted tert-butyl bridged dithiophene oxide derivatives using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Geometry improvements were carried out using the B3LYP hybrid functional and the 6-31G(d,p) basis set in Gaussian 09. Molecular shapes, bond lengths, bond angles, and dihedral angles were studied to find out how substitution patterns change the packing and conformation of molecules. Energy levels, distribution, and makeup of frontier molecular orbitals were found. This calculation also included finding other electronic qualities, such as electronic charges, dipole moments, and polarizabilities. Findings show that tert-butyl substitution makes the molecular backbone stiffer and limits its ability to twist compared to similar molecules that have not been replaced. The chemical geometry stays mostly the same when electron-withdrawing or electron-donating substituents are added to the tert- butyl groups. Nevertheless, the strength and location of substituents have a significant impact on frontier orbital energies. The HOMO-LUMO gap grew significantly when the nitro or cyano groups firmly pulled electrons away from derivatives. For successful charge transport, electron density plots show that the HOMO and LUMO are mainly located on the thiophene and substituent moieties, respectively. Molecular dipole moments are also strongly affected by the electronic features of substituents. This research shows how to change the optoelectronic properties of tert-butyl-based dithiophene oxide derivatives and how their structure-property relationships can be improved. The results help makes new organic semiconductors that work better in various electronic and optoelectronic uses.