Binding Energy Eb Research Articles

Evaluating the electronic and structural basis of carbon selenide-based quantum dots as photovoltaic design materials: A DFT and ML analysis

We present a new study on the design, discovery and space generation of carbon selenide based photovoltaic (PV) materials. By extending acceptors and leveraging density functional theory (DFT) and machine learning (ML) analysis, we discover new QDs with remarkable PV properties. We employ various ML models, to correlate the exciton binding energy (Eb) of 938 relevant compounds from literature with their molecular descriptors of structural features that influence their performance. Our study demonstrates the potential of ML approaches in streamlining the design and discovery of high-efficiency PV materials. Also the RDKit computed molecular descriptors correlates with PV parameters revealed maximum absorption (λmax) ranges of 509–531 nm, light harvesting efficiency (LHE) above 92 %, Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) of 0.22–0.45 V, and short Circuit (Jsc) currents of 37.92–42.75 mA/cm2. Their Predicted Power Conversion Efficiencies (PCE) using the Scharber method reaches upto 09–13 %. This study can pave the way for molecular descriptor-based design of new PV materials, promising a paradigm shift in the development of high-efficiency solar energy conversion technologies.

A machine learning and DFT assisted analysis of benzodithiophene based organic dyes for possible photovoltaic applications

We present a synergistic approach to combine Machine Learning (ML), Density Functional Theory (DFT), and molecular descriptor analysis for designing high-performance benzodithiophene (BDT) based chromophores. A dataset of 366 BDT incorporated moieties is compiled from literature while their molecular descriptors are designed by using Python programming language. Linear and Random Forest Regression models produces best results to predict their exciton binding energy (Eb) with their R-Squared (R2) value 0.87 and 0.94 respectively. Their DFT calculations provides additional features, including molecular charges. Their ML models also reveals that their Eb values are a crucial predictor for their photovoltaic (PV) performance as its lower value could facilitate efficient charge carrier separation. For this, their hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA) and topological polar surface area (TPSA) emerges as key descriptors during their regression analysis. Their DFT validation shows negligible differences in their molecular charges to suggest their electron donor/acceptor moieties can significantly impact their chromophore nature. The current research work is helpful for efficiently screening the suitability of organic chromophores for their PV applications through advanced computational tools.

Loosely Bounded Exciton with Enhanced Delocalization Capability Boosting Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells.

In organic solar cells (OSCs), electronacceptorshaveundergone multipleupdates, from the initial fullerene derivatives, to the later acceptor-donor-acceptor type non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), and now to Y-series NFAs, based on which efficiencies have reached over 19%. However, the key property responsible for further improved efficiency from molecular structure design is remained unclear. Herein, the material properties are comprehensively scanned by selecting PC71BM, IT-4F, and L8-BO as the representatives for different development stages of acceptors. For comparison, asymmetric acceptor of BTP-H5 with desired loosely bounded excitons is designed and synthesized. It's identified that the reduction of intrinsically exciton binding energy (Eb) and the enhancement of exciton delocalization capability act as the key roles in boosting the performance. Notably, 100 meV reduction in Eb has been observed from PC71BM to BTP-H5, correspondingly, electron-hole pair distance of BTP-H5 is almost two times over PC71BM. As a result, efficiency is improved from 40% of S-Q limit for PC71BM-based OSC to 60% for BTP-H5-based one, which achieves an efficiency of 19.07%, among the highest values for binary OSCs. This work reveals the confirmed function of exciton delocalization capability quantitatively in pushing the efficiency of OSCs, thus providing an enlightenment for future molecular design.

Efficient CO2 Reduction Reaction on Cu-Decorated Biphenylene.

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction into value-added products is crucial for a green economy. Inspired by the recent experimental synthesis of biphenylene (BPH) and the excellent catalytic activity of copper dispersed on two-dimensional (2D) materials, we chose to systematically investigate the pristine, defective, and Cu-decorated BPH for the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to value-added hydrocarbons. It is observed that the CO2 molecules bind weakly to the pristine BPH, indicating their chemical inertness. Carbon single-vacancy defects facilitate CO2 adsorption with a strong binding energy (Eb) of -3.23 eV, detrimental to the CO2 reduction reaction (CRR) mechanism. We have further investigated the binding energy and kinetic stability of Cu-decorated BPH as a single-atom-catalyst (SAC). The molecular dynamics simulations confirm the kinetic stability, revealing that the Cu-atom avoids agglomeration under low metal dispersal conditions. The CO2 molecule gets adsorbed horizontally on the Cu-BPH surface with a ΔEb of -0.52 eV. The CRR mechanism is investigated using two pathways beginning with two different initial states, formate (*OCOH) and carboxylic (*COOH). The formate pathway confirms the conversion of *OCOH to *HCOOH with the rate-limiting potential (UL) of 0.39 eV for the production of HCOOH, while for the carboxylic pathway, the conversion of *COH to *CHOH has a UL of 0.32 eV, eventually producing CH3OH. Our findings highlight the role of Cu-BPH as an efficient SAC for CO2 catalytic activity to C1 products, as compared to the state-of-the-art Cu, and holds promise as an electrocatalyst for CRR.

Nonfullerene Acceptors Bearing Spiro-Substituted Bithiophene Units in Organic Solar Cells: Tuning the Frontier Molecular Orbital Distribution to Reduce Exciton Binding Energy.

The development of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs), represented by ITIC, has contributed to improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). Although tuning the electronic structures to reduce the exciton binding energy (Eb) is considered to promote photocharge generation, a rational molecular design for NFAs has not been established. In this study, we designed and developed two ITIC-based NFAs bearing spiro-substituted bithiophene or biphenyl units (named SpiroT-DCI and SpiroF-DCI) to tune the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) distribution of NFAs. While the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) of SpiroF-DCI and ITIC are delocalized in the main π-conjugated framework, the HOMO of SpiroT-DCI is distributed on the bithiophene unit. Reflecting this difference, SpiroT-DCI exhibits a smaller Eb than either SpiroF-DCI or ITIC, and exhibits greater external quantum efficiency in single-component OSCs. Furthermore, SpiroT-DCI shows improved PCEs for bulk-heterojunction OSCs with a donor of PBDB-T, compared with that of either SpiroT-DCI or ITIC. Time-resolved spectroscopy measurements show that the photo-induced intermolecular charge separation is effective even in pristine SpiroT-DCI films. This study highlights the introduction of spiro-substituted bithiophene units that are effective in tuning the FMOs of ITIC, which is desirable for reducing the Eb and improving the PCE in OSCs.

Nonfullerene Acceptors Bearing Spiro‐Substituted Bithiophene Units in Organic Solar Cells: Tuning the Frontier Molecular Orbital Distribution to Reduce Exciton Binding Energy

AbstractThe development of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs), represented by ITIC, has contributed to improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). Although tuning the electronic structures to reduce the exciton binding energy (Eb) is considered to promote photocharge generation, a rational molecular design for NFAs has not been established. In this study, we designed and developed two ITIC‐based NFAs bearing spiro‐substituted bithiophene or biphenyl units (named SpiroT‐DCI and SpiroF‐DCI) to tune the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) distribution of NFAs. While the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) of SpiroF‐DCI and ITIC are delocalized in the main π‐conjugated framework, the HOMO of SpiroT‐DCI is distributed on the bithiophene unit. Reflecting this difference, SpiroT‐DCI exhibits a smaller Eb than either SpiroF‐DCI or ITIC, and exhibits greater external quantum efficiency in single‐component OSCs. Furthermore, SpiroT‐DCI shows improved PCEs for bulk‐heterojunction OSCs with a donor of PBDB‐T, compared with that of either SpiroT‐DCI or ITIC. Time‐resolved spectroscopy measurements show that the photo‐induced intermolecular charge separation is effective even in pristine SpiroT‐DCI films. This study highlights the introduction of spiro‐substituted bithiophene units that are effective in tuning the FMOs of ITIC, which is desirable for reducing the Eb and improving the PCE in OSCs.

Facilitating exciton dissociation in conjugated microporous polymers for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline via a gradient N doping strategy

As a leading green wastewater treatment technology, organic semiconductor photocatalysis for tetracycline (TC) degradation is widely recognized but currently constrained by excessive exciton binding energies and rapid charge recombination. In this work, conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) with five-membered heterocyclic ring have been fabricated by gradient doping of nitrogen at the monomer level. It demonstrates satisfactory photocatalytic performance, with thiadiazole introduced into the unit, achieving a TC removal rate of 95.6% within 30 min under visible light. The underlying origin of the preferable property lies in the lower exciton binding energy (Eb) with the assistance of the donor–acceptor (D-A) structure constructed by thiadiazole monomer and triazine skeleton. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations reveal that this five-membered heterocyclic structure can appropriately regulate the local charge distribution and increase the dipole moment, thus accelerating the migration dynamics of charge carriers in the degradation process. This study provides a novel insight into the modulation of polymer exciton Eb and enlightens the designation of metal-free photocatalysts based on antibiotic degradation.

Exploring the impact of end-capped benzothiazine-based acceptors to lead the photovoltaic properties of solar cells: A DFT/TD-DFT approach

To improve the solar cells performance, usually end-capped acceptors are used in designing of new molecules. Therefore, in this study, the side-chain and end-capped moieties were modified in reference compound (BTZR) and proposed new compounds (BTZD1-BTZD6) to augment their photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties. The density functional method was employed at the M06/6-311G(d,p) level to optimize and interpret their frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), density of states (DOS), transition density matrix (TDM), exciton binding energy (Eb), light absorption and open circuit voltage (Voc) characteristics. Their global reactivity parameters (GRPs) were calculated via the HOMO-LUMO energy band gap. Further, it was observed that all the investigated compounds showed lower band gaps (2.975–3.160 eV) and bathochromic shifts in the visible region (482.501–504.223 nm). Various plots such as the DOS, TDM and hole-electron further confirmed the efficiency of designed chromophores. Additionally, an interface of model donor–acceptor was constructed by considering the donor polymer (PBDB-T) and designed NFAs. Significant results were obtained for Voc (1.538–1.772 V). Among the selected candidates, BTZD3 and BTZD5 were obtained as high-performance non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). They exhibited least band gaps (2.988 and 2.975 eV) and highest λmax (504.223 and 498.606, respectively). These compounds also demonstrated the least exciton binding energy values as 0.529 and 0.488 eV, respectively. Besides this, comparative study with the standard hole transport material (HTM) spiro-OMeTAD showed a reasonable agreement, suggesting that the entitled compounds could serve as effective HTMs. Overall, the findings suggested the crucial role of end-capped modification in elevating the charge mobility and photovoltaic characteristics of BTZD1-BTZD6. This study provides a valuable insight in the development of good photovoltaic materials.

Non-linear optical properties of hybrid materials of (OLi3) superalkali doped perylene diimide (PDI) derivative: comprehensively study via silico-technique

PDI-Imidazole and PDI-Imidazole combined with OLi3 (OLi3@PDI-Imidazole) were the two types of materials that we examined in this study to see how light behaved in each of the complex. To explore this, we employed the three different method such as rB3LYP/6–31G(d, p) DFT, CAM-B3LYP and WB97XD. The impact of PDI-Imidazole and OLi3@PDI-Imidazole geometries, maximum absorption ( λmax ), FMO, vertical ionization energies ( EVI ), Binding Energies ( Eb ), Hyperpolarizabilities, DOS, Dipole Moments (μ), ESP, EDDM, and Global Reactivity parameters have been examined. The type of contacts as well as the vibrational frequencies of PDI-Imidazole and OLi3@PDI-Imidazole were investigated using NCl, iso-surface, Raman spectroscopy, and IR research. The electron transport characteristics of the OLi3@PDI-Imidazole surface was significantly enhanced in comparison to the PDI-Imidazole surface by lowering the bandgap energies from 1.27 eV to 1.03 eV. In contrast to the pure PDI-Imidazole surface, which had lower values for linear polarizability ( α0 ) (547.08 au) and first hyperpolarizability ( β0 )(201.133au), OLi3@PDI-Imidazole surface displayed significant enhancements in linear polarizability ( α0 = 706.472 au) and first hyperpolarizability ( β0 = 21314.360 au). It was observed by TD-DFT calculations that all the compounds had appreciable improvements in their interaction energies, HOMO–LUMO and UV–vis absorption and vertical ionization potential. Future development of nonlinear optical (NLO) devices has been discovered to benefit from the addition of OLi3 to the PDI-Imidazole surface.

Boosting exciton dissociation in conjugated microporous polymers via molecular isomerization for photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

Photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics from wastewater by polymeric photocatalysts is a powerful strategy to alleviate ecological damage and environmental pollution. Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are promising in photocatalysis due to their tunable electronic structure and excellent light absorption. Nonetheless, CMPs still suffer from low exciton separation efficiency. Here, we propose a molecular isomerism strategy to promote exciton dissociation in CMPs by modulating the position of the carbonyl moiety. As a result, the introduction of carbonyl moiety with different substitution positions into the backbone of CMPs could minimize the exciton binding energy (Eb) and thus promote charge separation. PyCMPs-3 with phenanthrenequinone moiety as the acceptor featured a lower Eb of 37.19 meV, which are much smaller than that of carbonyl-free PyCMPs-1 (80.49 meV) and PyCMPs-2 (59.21 meV) with anthraquinone as the acceptor. Among them, PyCMPs-3 performed the best in photocatalytic degradation of ofloxacin (99 %) at a concentration of 144 ppm, which was significantly higher than that of its analogues PyCMPs-1 (26 %) and PyCMPs-2 (57 %) within 100 min under visible light exposure. In short, this work delivered a novel molecular isomerism strategy to minimize Eb by regulating the position of the carbonyl moiety for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation efficiency, promoting the development of CMPs for practical environmental remediation applications.

Assessing pristine and metal doped C2N monolayer as a nanocarriers for anticancer drug

Theoretical research has introduced two-dimensional structures of thin sheets known as the pristine C2N monolayer and the Zn-doped C2N monolayer. These sheets show promise as nanocarriers for delivering the anticancer drug purinethol (PU). Through calculations of binding energy (Eb), it was observed that both the pristine C2N monolayer (−0.505 eV) and the Zn-decorated C2N monolayer (−0.762 eV) exhibit favorable characteristics for drug delivery. Eb values fall within range of physisorption, indicating their suitability as candidates for transporting drugs. An observed charge transfer (CT) of 0.035 e occurs in the Zn-decorated C2N monolayer, leading to a depletion of charge in the Zn-doped C2N monolayer system. The primary contributor to this charge loss is the Zn atom, which experiences a charge reduction of 0.035 e. To understand the phenomenon of drug release, the binding energy was recalculated under biological conditions, specifically in an acidic environment. The results indicate a decline in Eb (−0.218 eV) as well as a short recovery time, suggesting successful release of PU within body. The theoretical predictions we have made are expected to serve as inspiration for experimental researchers in their efforts to design drug delivery systems (DDSs) based on C2N monolayers.

Tuning optoelectronic properties of indandione-based D-A materials by malononitrile group acceptors: A DFT and TD-DFT approach.

Indandione-based materials are promising candidates for organic electronics, offering high electron mobility and tunable optoelectronic properties. In this study, we explore the optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties of indandione-based donor-acceptor (D-A) materials, specifically (R1) and (R2), by introducing malononitrile group acceptors into their molecular structure. These strong electron-withdrawing acceptors are designed to enhance charge transfer and overall material performance. The designed molecules (DM1-DM4) exhibit a low optical band gap of approximately 1.77eV, significantly lower than the reference materials (R1 and R2) at around 2.24eV in a solvent environment. Among the designed molecules, DM4 stands out with superior photovoltaic parameters, including a narrow optical band gap (1.77eV), higher electron affinity (3.49eV), an extended excited state lifetime (10.0ns) owing to its low electron and hole reorganization energies (λe ~ 0.13eV and λh ~ 0.24eV), and improved short-circuit current density (Jsc) of ~ 15.73mA/cm2. Notably, DM4 achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ~ 18.5%, making it an excellent candidate for device applications. A comprehensive computational investigation was carried out on indandione-based D-A materials with malononitrile group acceptors (DM1-DM4) using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) methods, as implemented in Gaussian 16 software. We examined the electronic and optical properties of the proposed molecules through frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, UV-Vis absorption spectra, density of states (DOS), exciton binding energy (Eb), and transition density matrix (TDM) analysis, utilizing GaussView 6.0 and Multiwfn 3.8 software. The photovoltaic parameters and power conversion efficiency (PCE) were evaluated using the Scharber and Alharbi models.

The Key Descriptors for Predicting the Exciton Binding Energy of Organic Photovoltaic Materials

Exciton binding energy (Eb) is a key parameter to determine the mechanism and performance of organic optoelectronic devices. Small Eb benefits to reduce the interfacial energy offset and the energy loss of organic solar cells. However, quantum‐chemical calculations of the Eb in solid state with considering electronic polarization effects are extremely time‐consuming. Furthermore, current studies lack critical descriptors. Here, we use data‐driven machine learning (ML) to accelerate the computation and identify the key descriptors most relevant to the solid‐state Eb. The results verify two key descriptors associated with molecular and aggregation‐state properties for efficient prediction of the solid‐state Eb. Moreover, a very high accuracy is achieved by using the extreme gradient boosting algorithm, with the Pearson’s correlation coefficient of 0.92. Finally, we use this ML model to predict the Eb of thin films, which is difficult to achieve using the current quantum‐chemical calculations due to the large structural disorder. Remarkably, the predicted thin‐film Eb values are fully consistent with the results of temperature‐dependent photoluminescence spectra. Therefore, our work provides an accurate and efficient approach to predict the solid‐state Eb and would be helpful to accelerate the exploitation of novel promising organic photovoltaic materials.

The Key Descriptors for Predicting the Exciton Binding Energy of Organic Photovoltaic Materials.

Exciton binding energy (Eb) is a key parameter to determine the mechanism and performance of organic optoelectronic devices. Small Eb benefits to reduce the interfacial energy offset and the energy loss of organic solar cells. However, quantum-chemical calculations of the Eb in solid state with considering electronic polarization effects are extremely time-consuming. Furthermore, current studies lack critical descriptors. Here, we use data-driven machine learning (ML) to accelerate the computation and identify the key descriptors most relevant to the solid-state Eb. The results verify two key descriptors associated with molecular and aggregation-state properties for efficient prediction of the solid-state Eb. Moreover, a very high accuracy is achieved by using the extreme gradient boosting algorithm, with the Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.92. Finally, we use this ML model to predict the Eb of thin films, which is difficult to achieve using the current quantum-chemical calculations due to the large structural disorder. Remarkably, the predicted thin-film Eb values are fully consistent with the results of temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra. Therefore, our work provides an accurate and efficient approach to predict the solid-state Eb and would be helpful to accelerate the exploitation of novel promising organic photovoltaic materials.

Correlating Chemical Structure and Charge Carrier Dynamics in Phenanthrocarbazole‐Based Hole Transporting Materials for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

ABSTRACTPolymeric hole transport materials (HTMs) have emerged because of their potential to produce dopant‐free, efficient, and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Therefore, we engineered 10 novel donor materials (SMH1–SMH10) containing phenanthrocarbazole‐based polymeric structures for organic and PSCs. These molecules underwent bridging‐core modifications using different spacers, such as furan (N1), pyrrole (N2), benzene (N3), pyrazine (N4), dioxane (N5), isoxazole (N6), isoindole (N7), indolizine (N8), double bond (N9), and pyrimidine (N10), in comparison to reference molecule R. The study examined the structure–property relationship and the impact of these modifications on the optical, photovoltaic, photophysical, and optoelectronic characteristics of the newly designed SMH1–SMH10 series. Density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations were conducted to analyze frontier molecular orbitals, density of states, reorganization energies, open‐circuit voltage, transition density matrix, and charge transfer processes. Results show that the newly designed molecules (SMH1–SMH10) exhibited superior optoelectronics characteristics compared to the R molecule. Among these, SMH4 is the most promising candidate, with a small band gap (2.79 eV), low electron and hole mobility (λe 0.0028 eV, λh 0.0020 eV), lower binding energy (Eb 0.58 eV), high λmax values (656.42 nm in gas, 573.34 nm in chlorobenzene), and a high Voc of 1.30 V. Therefore, this study demonstrated that bridging‐core modifications offer a simple and effective strategy for designing desirable characteristics molecules for photovoltaic applications.

A Dibenzo[g,p]chrysene‐Based Organic Semiconductor with Small Exciton Binding Energy via Molecular Aggregation

AbstractExciton binding energy (Eb) is understood as the energy required to dissociate an exciton in free‐charge carriers, and is known to be an important parameter in determining the performance of organic opto‐electronic devices. However, the development of a molecular design to achieve a small level of Eb in the solid state continues to lag behind. Here, to investigate the relationship between aggregation and Eb, star‐shaped π‐conjugated compounds DBC‐RD and TPE‐RD were developed using dibenzo[g,p]chrysene (DBC) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE). Theoretical calculations and physical measurements in solution showed no apparent differences between DBC‐RD and TPE‐RD, indicating that these molecules possess similar properties on a single‐molecule level. By contrast, pristine films incorporating these molecules showed significantly different levels of electron affinity, ionization potential, and optical gap. Also, DBC‐RD had a smaller Eb value of 0.24 eV compared with that of TPE‐RD (0.42 eV). However, these molecules showed similar Eb values under dispersed conditions, which suggested that the decreased Eb of DBC‐RD in pristine film is induced by molecular aggregation. By comparison with TPE‐RD, DBC‐RD showed superior performances in single‐component organic solar cells and organic photocatalysts. These results indicate that a molecular design suitable for aggregation is important to decrease the Eb in films.

A Dibenzo[g,p]chrysene-Based Organic Semiconductor with Small Exciton Binding Energy via Molecular Aggregation.

Exciton binding energy (Eb) is understood as the energy required to dissociate an exciton in free-charge carriers, and is known to be an important parameter in determining the performance of organic opto-electronic devices. However, the development of a molecular design to achieve a small level of Eb in the solid state continues to lag behind. Here, to investigate the relationship between aggregation and Eb, star-shaped π-conjugated compounds DBC-RD and TPE-RD were developed using dibenzo[g,p]chrysene (DBC) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE). Theoretical calculations and physical measurements in solution showed no apparent differences between DBC-RD and TPE-RD, indicating that these molecules possess similar properties on a single-molecule level. By contrast, pristine films incorporating these molecules showed significantly different levels of electron affinity, ionization potential, and optical gap. Also, DBC-RD had a smaller Eb value of 0.24 eV compared with that of TPE-RD (0.42 eV). However, these molecules showed similar Eb values under dispersed conditions, which suggested that the decreased Eb of DBC-RD in pristine film is induced by molecular aggregation. By comparison with TPE-RD, DBC-RD showed superior performances in single-component organic solar cells and organic photocatalysts. These results indicate that a molecular design suitable for aggregation is important to decrease the Eb in films.

Donor polarization engineering of conjugated microporous polymers to boost exciton dissociation for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

The misuse and inevitable release of antibiotics can cause significant harm to both human health and the environment, and the use of polymeric semiconductors for photodegradation of antibiotics in aqueous environments is one of the most effective strategies to alleviate the current dilemma. Nevertheless, the inherently high exciton binding energy (Eb) and low photogenerated carrier transfer efficiency for most photocatalysts results in unsatisfactory photodegradation performance. Hence, this work proposes a donor polarization strategy to regulate the exciton dissociation of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) by minimizing their Eb. Results exhibited that the introduction of the strong donor unit 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) not only reduces the Eb and effectively promotes exciton dissociation, but also broadens the visible light absorption of CMP. Among them, EdtTz-CMP with the lowest Eb (99 meV) delivered an efficiency of 94.6% in photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) with in 90 min, significantly higher than those of its analogues. This work provides a viable approach to design CMPs by tuning the intrinsic dipole of the donor for efficient environmental purification.

Facile synthesis, SC-XRD, spectroscopic characterization & key electronic properties of nicotinaldehyde based scaffolds

Currently, pyridine based derivatives (TFMPN, BPN, and APN) have been synthesized using the Suzuki Miyaura coupling reaction and their structural confirmation was ensured by various spectroscopic techniques like UV–Visible, NMR (1H and 13C), and single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) studies. After structural elucidation the key electronic properties of the synthesized derivatives were investigated through DFT/TD-DFT approaches at the M06/6–31 G (d, p) functional. The FMOs analysis showed effective charge transmission from HOMO towards LUMO, additionally reinforced by TDM and DOS analyses. Global reactivity parameters (GRPs) verified high softness along with substantial reactivity in TFMPN, BPN, and APN. Moreover, the low values of binding energy (Eb = 1.022–1.778 eV) demonstrate a higher exciton dissociation rate along with better hole movement. Among the chromophores listed above, BPN is regarded as the best due to its lowest energy gap (4.628 eV), maximum absorption maxima (344.429 nm), and softness (0.216 eV) characteristics therefore, it exhibits effective key electronic properties among all entitled chromophores.

Engineering novel alkalides with superalkali clusters: Ab initio insights into nonlinear optical responses

ABSTRACT We designed novel alkalides such as FLi2-M-OLi3 and FLi2-M-NLi4 (M = Li, Na, K), along with OLi3-M-NLi4 (M = Li, Na) by interacting alkali metal atoms with heterogeneous superalkali clusters in anionic, neutral and cationic configurations. The stability of these superalkali based alkalides are confirmed by its binding energy (Eb ). Utilising QTAIM method, the bond strength and nature of bond have been analysed. NPA charge analysis is conducted to forecast charge transfer and also to confirm the alkalide character of the complex along with the electron localisation function (ELF) analysis. The HOMO–LUMO gap analysis is performed to analyse electrical conductivity and chemical reactivity. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties have been investigated by polarisability and first-order static hyperpolarizibilty (β0 ), which is found to be as high as 2.77 × 107 a. u. for (OLi3-Li-NLi4)+ complex. The UV-Vis spectra and electronic transitions are used to explain the enhanced NLO responses. The study not only identifies new alkalide candidates but also presents strategies to significantly improve their NLO properties, which may be useful in nonlinear optics and optoelectronics.