Theoretical study of charge-transport and optical properties of indeno[1,2-b]fluorene-6,12-dione-based semiconducting materials

Abstract

The conducting and optical properties of a series of indeno[1,2-b]fluorene-6,12-dione (IFD)-based molecules have been systematically studied and the influences of butyl, butylthio and dibutylamino substituents on the reorganization energies, intermolecular electronic couplings and charge-injection barriers of IFD have been discussed. The quantum-chemical calculations combined with electron-transfer theory reveal that the incorporation of sulfur-linked side chains decreases reorganization energy associated with hole transfer and optimizes intermolecular π–π stacking, which results in excellent ambipolar charge-transport properties (μh = 1.15 cm2 V−1 s−1 and μe = 0.08 cm2 V−1 s−1); in comparison, addition of dibutylamino side chains increases intermolecular steric interactions and hinders perfect intermolecular π–π stacking, which results in the weak electronic couplings and finally causes the low intrinsic hole mobility (μh = 0.01 cm2 V−1 s−1). Furthermore, electronic spectra of butyl-IFD, butylthio-IFD and dibutylamino-IFD were simulated and compared with the reported experimental data. Calculations demonstrate that IFD-based molecules possess potential for developing novel infrared and near-infrared probe materials via suitable chemical modifications.