Theoretical screening of N-[5′-methyl-3′-isoxasolyl]-N-[(E)-1-(-2-thiophene)] methylidene]amine and its isoxazole based derivatives as donor materials for bulk heterojunction organic solar cells: DFT and TD-DFT investigation

• Published in: Journal of molecular modeling Vol. 30; no. 6; p. 176
• Main Authors: Tendongmo, Hilaire, Kogge, Bine Fritzgerald, Tamafo Fouegue, Aymard Didier, Tasheh, Stanley Numbonui, Tessa, Charles Bernard Nwamba, Ghogomu, Julius Numbonui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acceptor materials; Aromatic compounds; Aromaticity; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Charge materials; Charge transfer; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Computer Appl. in Life Sciences; Computer Applications in Chemistry; Density functional theory; Dipole moments; Donor materials; Electrons; Energy conversion efficiency; Heterojunctions; Investigations; Mathematical analysis; Molecular Medicine; Molecular orbitals; Optimization; Optoelectronics; Organic chemistry; Organic materials; Original Paper; Parameters; Photovoltaic cells; Solar cells; Solvent effect; Substitutes; Theoretical and Computational Chemistry; Organic photovoltaic materials; Density functional theory; Open-circuit voltage; Isoxazole derivatives
• ISSN: 1610-2940; 0948-5023
• DOI: 10.1007/s00894-024-05978-1

Context In the present work, the influence of aromatic ring substitution on a series of small-donor organic molecules ( A , B , C , D , and E ) with isoxazole cores was investigated for photovoltaic applications in organic solar cells. Frontier molecular orbital analysis, chemical reactivity descriptors, dipole moment, and population analysis showed that all the organic materials have intramolecular charge transfer abilities capable of donating electrons to the acceptor material (PCBM). The required photovoltaic parameters such as V oc , FF, J sc , LHE, and other associated optoelectronic parameters are reported. The results demonstrate that aromatic ring substitution influences charge transfer and power conversion efficiencies of solar cells. That is, an increase in the aromatic character of a material increases its charge transfer, and as a result, its photovoltaic properties are increased. Additionally, all the investigated derivatives are good charge transporters with suitable electron reorganization energies, which are beneficial for minimizing energy loss. Hence, these organic derivatives with isoxazole backbones are promising materials and may provide fresh insights into the design of new materials for organic solar cell applications. Method All calculations were performed using DFT and the ORCA 4.1.0 program package as the main tool for geometry optimization and frequency calculations. The Avogadro 1.2.1 visualization tool was used to prepare all input files executed by ORCA 4.1.0. The BP86, B3LYP, and wB97M series of functionals coupled with the def2/TZVP basis set were employed for geometry optimization. All energy-related calculations were carried out using the M06-2x functional. Multiwfn version 3.7 was used for aromaticity and population analysis. Excited state and UV-visible spectra were simulated using the TD-DFT method at the CAM-B3LYP-D3, wB97X-D3, and PBE0-D3 coupled with the ma-def2-TZVP basis set. Moreover, solvent effects were incorporated using the SMD scheme as incorporated in the ORCA software. Lastly, the RIJCOSX approximations were used to speed up calculations while maintaining accuracy.