Endohedral fullerene as acceptor: A DFT study on charge transfer states of Sc$_3$N@C$_{80}$-porphyrin complex

ORAL

Abstract

C$_{60}$ fullerene and its derivatives are the most popular acceptors which are used in molecular/polymeric complexes used in organic photovoltaics. Endohedral fullerenes are shown to produce long lived charge separated states. The Sc$_3$N@C$_{80}$, the third most abundant fullerene after C$_{60}$ and C$_{70}$, has a larger cage with a radius of 4.1 Ang. We have carried out a DFT study on the electronic structure of ground and charge transfer states of a model Sc$_3$N@C$_{80}$-Zn tetraphenyl porphyrin cofacial complex. The C$_{80}$ cage used in our calculations has icosahedral symmetry. We find that the lowest charge transfer state with a hole on the porphyrin and an electron on the Sc$_3$N@C$_{80}$ is at 2.1 eV above the ground state. The calculations show that different orientations of the Sc$_3$N unit to the porphyrin plane do not significantly alter the electronic structure. The electronic structure of the complex and its components along with the exciton binding energies will be presented.

Authors

  • Fatameh Amerikheirabadi

    University of Texas at El Paso

  • Luis Basurto

    University of Texas at El Paso

  • Rajendra Zope

    University of Texas at El Paso

  • Tunna Baruah

    University of Texas at El Paso