AB INITIO AND DFT THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON NOVEL PORPHYRIN–FULLERENE SUPRAMOLECULAR DYADS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES

Abstract

The conformational stability and electronic structures of novel H 2-(1) and Zn-tetraphenylporphyrin–[60]fullerene (2) dyads, in which the [60]fullerene is directly linked to the tetrapyrrolic rings by ethynylenephenylene subunits, have been studied by ab initio and density functional theory calculations. From the investigation on frontier molecular orbitals, it was found that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital state of these supramolecules is localized on the fullerene and that the highest occupied molecular orbital state is localized on the porphyrin moiety. Molecular electrostatic potential maps clearly demonstrate the electron transfer phenomena from the porphyrin moiety to the fullerene in dyads 1 and 2.