Semiconducting conjugated polymers (CPs) are pivotal in advancing organic electronics, offering tunable properties for solar cells and field-effect transistors. Here, we carry out first-principle calculations to study individual cis-polyacetylene (cis-PA) oligomers and their ensembles. The ground electronic structures are obtained using density functional theory (DFT), and excited state dynamics are explored by computing nonadiabatic couplings (NACs) between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. We compute the nonradiative relaxation of charge carriers and photoluminescence (PL) using the Redfield theory. Our findings show that electrons relax faster than holes. The ensemble of oligomers shows faster relaxation compared to the single oligomer. The calculated PL spectra show features from both interband and intraband transitions. The ensemble shows broader line widths, redshift of transition energies, and lower intensities compared to the single oligomer. This comparative study suggests that the dispersion forces and orbital hybridizations between chains are the leading contributors to the variation in PL. It provides insights into the fundamental behaviors of CPs and the molecular-level understanding for the design of more efficient optoelectronic devices.
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DFT simulation of conductivity of the p-type doped and charge-injected cis-polyacetylene
Semiconducting conjugated polymers (CPs) have shown great potential in organic solar cells and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), due to their tunable electronic and optical properties. In this study, we compare computational predictions of electronic and optical properties of ensembles of cis-polyacetylene (cis-PA) multiple oligomers in two different forms (a) undoped cis-PA and (b) cis- PA doped by phosphorous fluoride (PF6−) via density functional theory (DFT) with hybrid functionals. The comparison of undoped cis-PA under the constraint of injected charge carrier and cis-PA doped by PF6− shows that either doping or injection provides very similar features in electronic structure and optical properties. Doped and injected are similar to each other and different from the pristine, undoped PA. Computed results also indicate that the injection of charge carriers and adding p-type doping into the semiconducting CP model both greatly affect the conductivity. These observations provide a better understanding and practical use of the properties of polyacetylene films for flexible electronic applications.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1944921
- PAR ID:
- 10348654
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecular Physics
- ISSN:
- 0026-8976
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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