The additive substituent effect of phenylmercapto derivatives of corannulene are investigated by spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational techniques. The per-substituted phenylmercaptocorannulene is incorporated as a replacement for [6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in a photovoltaic device.
Keywords: photovoltaic, electrochemistry, corannulene, photochemistry
IntroductionIn a similar fashion to fullerenes, 1 curved aromatic hydrocarbons, like corannulene, 1, behave as electrondeficient π-systems, 2 the redox properties of which can be tuned by derivatization (Figure 1). 3 Curved aromatic hydrocarbons related to corannulene have been used in various materials applications including the development of fluorescent chemosensors, 4 organic field-effect transistors, 5 and heterojunction photovoltaics. 6 In each case, specific photochemical and redox properties have been important to the success of the application. Tuning the photochemical and redox properties of corannulene cognates corresponds to influencing the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels as well as the HOMO-LUMO gap. Whereas simple alkyl substituents raise HOMO and LUMO levels, 7 fluorinated alkyl groups lower both; 8 in neither case is there a substantial effect on the HOMO-LUMO gap as gauged from absorption spectroscopy. Organothio-substituents raise HOMO and lower LUMO levels such that one can obtain good electron acceptors with smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps. For example, compared to 1, a pale yellow material with first reduction at −2.33 eV in acetonitrile, decasubstitution of 1 with thiophenol (SPh) produces a deep red material with the first reduction potential at −1.22 eV, 10 which is similar to the reported value of −1.17 volts for [6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Given that many high-performing organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices rely on C 60 and its derivatives to act as electron acceptors, 11 this similarity in electrochemistry between PCBM and decakisphenylmercaptocorannulene motivates a study into the nature of tuning the physical properties (electrochemistry, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence) of corannulene by phenylmercapto substitution and the photovoltaic characterization of decakis(phenylthio-)corannulene as an acceptor in an OPV device. Furthermore, the optoelectronic tunability of corannulenes makes them potentially useful as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), 12 as organic conductors, 13 or in high density carbon electrodes. Vol. 27, No. 10, 2016
ExperimentalGeneral synthesis 1,3-Dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI; 5-10 mL, dried over molecular sieve) was added to a round bottom flask equipped with a reflux condenser. Thiophenol (1.5 equiv./ reaction site) and sodium hydride (1.2 equiv./reaction site, 60% in mineral oil) were added and stirred at room temperature for 10 min. The halogenated corannulene derivative (2a-7a, 1 equiv.) was added and the solution was heated at 60 °C for 18 h. The...