The theoretical work presented here demonstrates that, when substitution takes place at appropriate positions, cyanation could be a useful tool for reducing the internal reorganization energy of molecules. A molecular-orbital-based explanation is given for this fundamentally important phenomenon. Some of the cyanated pentacene derivatives (nCN-PENT-n) not only have internal reorganization energies for electron transfer (lambda(-)) smaller than that of pentacene, but the lambda(-) values are even of the same magnitude as the internal reorganization energy for hole transfer (lambda(+)) of pentacene, a small value that few organic compounds have surpassed. In addition, cyanation raises the electron affinity of the parent compound and may afford good electronic couplings between neighboring molecules, because of its ability in promoting pi-stacking. For the design of high performance n-Type Organic field-effect transistors, high electron affinities, large intermolecular electronic couplings, and small reorganization energies are necessary. Cyanation may help in all three aspects. Two cyanated trialkylsilylethynyl pentacene derivatives with known pi-stacking structures are predicted to provide reasonably small internal reorganization energies, large electronic couplings, and high electron affinities. They have the potential to outperform N-fluoroalkylated dicyanoperylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximides) (PDI-FCN(2)) in terms of electron mobility.

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A series of thiophene-fused acenes, anthra[2,3-b]thiophene (1), tetraceno[2,3-b]thiophene (2), and 2-n-decyl-tetraceno[2,3-b]thiophene (3), were synthesized. The crystal structures of 1 and 2 were determined. A weak dipole results from the addition of the thiophene ring, and the crystal packing changes from the triclinic structure of acenes to orthorhombic, with the molecules maintaining the herringbone arrangement with the molecular long axis antiparallel to the neighbors. Theoretical calculation showed that the molecules have higher oxidation potential and comparable hole mobility as acene analogues with the same number of rings. Thin film transistor devices were fabricated from these materials. With compound 1, a field-effect mobility of 0.134 cm2/V s and on/off ratio of 108 can be achieved when deposited at a substrate temperature of 25 °C, whereas a mobility of 0.245 cm2/V s and on/off ratio of 106 were observed for compound 2 deposited at 80 °C.

Hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATNA) derivatives have been successfully shown to function as efficient electron-transporting materials (ETMs) for perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). The cells demonstrate a superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.6 % with negligible hysteresis. This study provides one of the first nonfullerene small-molecule-based ETMs for high-performance p-i-n PVSCs.

5,7,12,14-Tetrachloro-6,13-diaza-6,13-dihydropentacene (TCDAHP) and 5,7,12,14-tetrachloro-6,13-diazapentacene (TCDAP) were synthesized and assessed as the active channel materials for thin-film transistor applications. Analyses of the crystal structures of these molecules revealed that both exhibited slipped pi-pi stacking of the long and fused aromatic moiety. Although the packing features of the two compounds are basically identical, their highest occupied molecular orbitals, which are relevant to hole transport, are very different. Better mobility was predicted for TCDAHP over TCDAP based on the dimeric structure in the X-ray coordinates. The morphologies of thin films of TCDAHP and TCDAP prepared by thermal evaporation depend critically on the substrate on which the molecules were deposited: from the amorphous state on a SiO(2)/Si surface to the crystalline state on a pentacene buffer layer surface. The performance of thin-film transistors prepared on various substrate surfaces was studied. While no field-effect mobility was observed for these films deposited on SiO(2)/Si, a high mobility of 1.4 cm(2)/(V s) for the TCDAHP film was achieved when deposited on a pentacene buffer layer prepared on a rubbed monolayer of n-nonyltrichlorosilane on a SiO(2)/Si surface. A similar device prepared from TCDAP gave a mobility of 0.13 cm(2)/(V s).

Structural parameters and electronic band gaps of dense TiO(2) polymorphs, i.e., alpha-PbO(2), baddeleyite, fluorite, and cotunnite types of structures, were calculated using a first-principles density functional method with local-density approximation. The ambient phases, i.e., rutile and anatase, with known theoretical and experimental data were used to ensure the validity of the calculations. The fluorite-type TiO(2) turned out to have the narrowest band gap, 1.08 or 2.18 eV after applying a very approximate band gap correction, due to highly symmetrical TiO(8) polyhedra with Ti(3d) and O(2p) orbitals in the most mixed state. Ti with eight coordinated oxygens, as feasible under high pressure or residual stress, may have potential applications as a visible-light-responsive photocatalyst.

New dipolar compounds containing alternating electron-rich thieno[3,2-b]thiophene units and electron deficient units have been synthesized. Compounds with 5-pyrimidinyl (compound 2) or benzothiazole (compound 5) as the electron-deficient unit were structurally characterized by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The arrangement of the molecules is found to be one-dimensional slipped-pi-stack for 2. That of 5 is of slipped-pi-stack, albeit with a tilt angle between neighboring pi-stacks. The pi-pi interfacial distances of the molecules in the crystal lattice are 3.47 and 3.59 A for 2 and 5, respectively. On the basis of the crystal structure, compound 2, with negligible pi-pi slip along the short axis of the molecules, has a calculated electronic coupling value (0.153 eV) twice as large as that of the largest coupling of pentacene. Accordingly, the theoretically estimated hole mobility (mu(+)) for 2 (2.32 cm(2) s(-1) V(-1)) compares favorably with that of pentacene (1.93-5.43 cm(2) s(-1) V(-1)), despite of the larger reorganization energy for hole transport in 2. The symmetric intrastack S...C contacts found between the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene and pyrimidinyl units explain the unique features of the crystal structure of 2 and the resulting large electronic coupling.

Density functional theory calculations were performed to explore the influence of halogenation on the reorganization energies (λ), adiabatic ionization potentials (IPs), adiabatic electron affinities (EAs), and air stabilities of a series of pentacene (PENT) and tetraceno[2,3-b]thiophene (TbTH) derivatives. According to calculated IP and EA values, all well-known PENT and TbTH derivatives in this paper are air-stable p-channel but not air-stable n-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) due to insufficient EAs, consistent with experimental observations. The calculated results show that attaching two or more halogen atoms onto air-unstable 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-5,7,12,14-tetraazapentacene (TIPS-N4PENT) is sufficient for promoting ambipolar air-stable properties. The electronic coupling and band structure calculations indicate that halogenated TIPS-N4PENT derivatives have potential applications in high-performance ambipolar air-stable OFETs. They also provide rational guidelines for the design of ambipolar air-stable organic semiconductors (OSCs).