The influence of nitrogen position on charge carrier mobility in enantiopure aza[6]helicene crystals
File(s)Final_revised_MAIN_Xaza6helicenes.pdf (1.83 MB) Final_revised_SI_Xaza6helicenes.pdf (7.81 MB)
Accepted version
Supporting information
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The properties of an organic semiconductor are dependent on both the chemical structure of the molecule involved, and how it is arranged in the solid-state. It is challenging to extract the influence of each individual factor, as small changes in the molecular structure often dramatically change the crystal packing and hence solid-state structure. Here, we use calculations to explore the influence of the nitrogen position on the charge mobility of a chiral organic molecule when the crystal packing is kept constant. The transfer integrals for a series of enantiopure aza[6]helicene crystals sharing the same packing were analysed in order to identify the best supramolecular motifs to promote charge carrier mobility. The regioisomers considered differ only in the positioning of the nitrogen atom in the aromatic scaffold. The simulations showed that even this small change in the chemical structure has a strong effect on the charge transport in the crystal, leading to differences in charge mobility of up to one order of magnitude. Some aza[6]helicene isomers that were packed interlocked with each other showed high HOMO-HOMO integrals (up to 70 meV), whilst molecules arranged with translational symmetry generally afforded the highest LUMO-LUMO integrals (40-70 meV). As many of the results are not intuitively obvious, a computational approach provides additional insight into the design of new semiconducting organic materials.
Date Issued
2019-03-07
Date Acceptance
2019-02-08
Citation
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2019, 21 (9), pp.5059-5067
ISSN
1463-9076
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Start Page
5059
End Page
5067
Journal / Book Title
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Volume
21
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Royal Society of Chemistry.
Sponsor
The Royal Society
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Commission of the European Communities
The Royal Society
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30762041
Grant Number
UF120469
EP/P005543/1
758370
RGF\EA\180057
Subjects
02 Physical Sciences
03 Chemical Sciences
Chemical Physics
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2019-02-08