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<p>The presented thesis is devoted to the field of organic light emitting</p><p>diodes (OLEDs). Time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory</p><p>(TDDFT) is applied</p><p>in order to eludicate optical properties such as fluorescence and</p><p>phosphorescence for some of the most important materials. The</p><p>accuracy of TDDFT is evaluated with respect to the calculated absorption</p><p>and emission spectra for commonly used light emitting polymers.</p><p>A continuation of this work is devoted to Polyfluorene as this polymer</p><p>has proven to be very promising. In this study the chain</p><p>length dependence of its singlet and triplet excited states is</p><p>analyzed as well as the excited state structures.</p><p>Understanding the phosphorescence mechanism of tris(2-phenylpyridine)Iridium is</p><p>of importance in order to interpret the high efficiency of OLEDs</p><p>containing these specimens. The mechanism is analyzed by calculating</p><p>the electric transition dipole moments by means of TDDFT using</p><p>quadratic response functions.</p><p>As not only the optical properties are essential for effective</p><p>devices, electron transfer properties are addressed. The electron</p><p>transfer capability of the sulfur and nitrogen analogues of Oxadiazole</p><p>is evaluated through their internal reorganization energy.</p>

The presented thesis is devoted to the field of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory (TDDFT) is applied in order to eludicate optical properties such as fluorescence and phosphorescence for some of the most important materials. The accuracy of TDDFT is evaluated with respect to the calculated absorption and emission spectra for commonly used light emitting polymers. A continuation of this work is devoted to Polyfluorene as this polymer has proven to be very promising. In this study the chain length dependence of its singlet and triplet excited states is analyzed as well as the excited state structures. Understanding the phosphorescence mechanism of tris(2-phenylpyridine)Iridium is of importance in order to interpret the high efficiency of OLEDs containing these specimens. The mechanism is analyzed by calculating the electric transition dipole moments by means of TDDFT using quadratic response functions. As not only the optical properties are essential for effective devices, electron transfer properties are addressed. The electron transfer capability of the sulfur and nitrogen analogues of Oxadiazole is evaluated through their internal reorganization energy. / <p>QC 20101109</p>

This thesis is concerned with the study of electrode kinetics, which we shall examine via comparison between theory with experiment. As such the first two chapters outline the basic principles of electrochemical experiments and their simulation. First, we examine the properties of voltammetry at porous electrodes by means of both simulations and experiments. We then introduce the symmetric Marcus-Hush (SMH) model of electrode kinetics as an alternative to the empirical Butler-Volmer model. First, we examine different methods for modeling the voltammetry of kinetically inhomogeneous electroactive monolayers. Next, we perform a critical evaluation of the SMH model for solution-phase systems through extensive comparison to experiments under diffusion-only and convective mass transport conditions using both cyclic and square wave voltammetry. The model is compared with the Butler-Volmer model throughout and is ultimately found to be poorly suited to the parameterisation of electrode kinetics, despite its foundations in the microscopic Marcus theory. We then introduce the asymmetric Marcus-Hush model, which removes the assumption that the Gibbs energy curves for reactant and product have the same curvature. This modification results in an additional parameter which quantifies the asymmetry of the system. A similar evaluation of this model is then undertaken for both surface-bound and solution phase systems and the asymmetric model is found to be a great deal more successful than its symmetric predecessor. Finally we outline a novel technique for extracting kinetic information directly from experimental cyclic voltammetry. The method is simple to implement and is general to all electrode geometries with one-dimensional symmetry.

abstract: This study aims to address the deficiencies of the Marcus model of electron transfer (ET) and then provide modifications to the model. A confirmation of the inverted energy gap law, which is the cleanest verification so far, is presented for donor-acceptor complexes. In addition to the macroscopic properties of the solvent, the physical properties of the solvent are incorporated in the model via the microscopic solvation model. For the molecules studied in this dissertation, the rate constant first increases with cooling, in contrast to the prediction of the Arrhenius law, and then decreases at lower temperatures. Additionally, the polarizability of solute, which was not considered in the original Marcus theory, is included by the Q-model of ET. Through accounting for the polarizability of the reactants, the Q-model offers an important design principle for achieving high performance solar energy conversion materials. By means of the analytical Q-model of ET, it is shown that including molecular polarizability of C60 affects the reorganization energy and the activation barrier of ET reaction. The theory and Electrochemistry of Ferredoxin and Cytochrome c are also investigated. By providing a new formulation for reaction reorganization energy, a long-standing disconnect between the results of atomistic simulations and cyclic voltametery experiments is resolved. The significant role of polarizability of enzymes in reducing the activation energy of ET is discussed. The binding/unbinding of waters to the active site of Ferredoxin leads to non-Gaussian statistics of energy gap and result in a smaller activation energy of ET. Furthermore, the dielectric constant of water at the interface of neutral and charged C60 is studied. The dielectric constant is found to be in the range of 10 to 22 which is remarkably smaller compared to bulk water( 80). Moreover, the interfacial structural crossover and hydration thermodynamic of charged C60 in water is studied. Increasing the charge of the C60 molecule result in a dramatic structural transition in the hydration shell, which lead to increase in the population of dangling O-H bonds at the interface. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Chemistry 2019

Cyclopropyl-containing substrates have been frequently utilized as "probes" for the detection of SET pathways in organic and biorganic systems. These reactions are based on the cyclorpropylcarbinyl → homoallyl rearrangement, which is fast and essentially irreversible. The implicit assumption in such studies is that if a "radical" species is produced, it will undergo ring opening. We have found that there are two important factors to consider in the design of SET probes: 1) ring strain, the thermodynamic driving force for the rearrangement, and 2) resonance energy, which may help or hinder rearrangement, depending on the specific system. Delocalization of spin and charge were found to be important factors pertaining to substituent effects on the rates of radical anion rearrangements. Previous studies from our lab have centered on highly conjugated phenyl cyclopropyl ketones. This work considers a series of compounds varying in their conjugative components from a highly conjugated spiro[2.5]octa-4,7-dien-6-one and derivatives to simple aliphatic ketones. Utilizing cyclic, linear sweep voltammetry, and preparative electrolysis techniques, it was discovered that all substrates yielded ring opened products with rates and selectivities that will prove useful and informative in the design of mechanistic probes based on the cyclorpropylcarbinyl → homoallyl rearrangement. Rates of homogeneous electron transfer from a series of hydrocarbon mediators to substrates were measured using homogeneous catalysis techniques. Standard reduction potentials and reorganization energies of substrates were derived using Marcus theory. Conjugative interactions with the cyclopropyl group are discussed. / Ph. D.

Les processus d’oxydo-réduction impliquant des molécules organiques se retrouvent très fréquemment dans les protéines. Ces réactions comprennent généralement des transferts d’électrons et de protons qui se traduisent dans le bilan réactionnel par des transferts couplés proton-électron, des transferts simples d’hydrogène, d’hydrure... Une des principales méthodes pour élucider ces mécanismes est fournie par l'évaluation de grandeurs thermodynamiques et cinétiques. Expérimentalement, ces informations sont cependant obtenues avec une résolution temporelle souvent limitée à la milli/microseconde. Les simulations numériques présentées ici complètent, à des échelles de temps plus courtes (femto, pico, nanosecondes), ces données expérimentales. Il existe de nombreuses méthodes de simulations dédiées à l’étude de mécanismes redox dans les protéines combinant la description quantique des réactifs (QM) nécessaire à l’étude des changements d’états électroniques et la description classique de l’environnement (MM), l'échantillonnage de conformations se faisant grâce à des simulations de dynamique moléculaire (MD). Ces méthodes diffèrent par la qualité de la description du mécanisme réactionnel et le coût en temps de calcul. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier les mécanismes de différents processus impliquant des transferts de protons et d’électrons en recherchant à chaque fois les outils adaptés. Elle comporte trois parties : i) l’évaluation de potentiels redox de cofacteurs quinones ; ii) la description du mécanisme d’oxydation du L-lactate dans l’enzyme flavocytochrome b2 ; iii) la décomposition d’un transfert formel d’hydrure entre deux flavines au sein de la protéine EmoB. Dans le cas du calcul des potentiels redox, nous utilisons une méthode notée QM+MM où la description électronique se fait en phase gaz au niveau DFT tandis que les simulations de MD s’effectuent classiquement. Nous appliquons l’approximation de réponse linéaire (ARL) pour décrire la réponse du système aux étapes de changement d’état de protonation ou d’oxydation de la fonction quinone ce qui aboutit au calcul du potentiel redox théorique. Nous avons ainsi pu établir une courbe de calibration des résultats théoriques en fonction des données expérimentales, confirmant la validité de l'ARL pour les cofacteurs quinones dans l’eau. La méthode a été étendue à la protéine MADH mais les limites de l’ARL ont été atteintes du fait des fluctuations importantes de l’environnement. L’étude de l’oxydation du L-lactate en pyruvate repose sur le calcul de surfaces d'énergie libre au niveau AM1/MM. Ces surfaces sont obtenues à l’aide de simulations de MD biaisées puis corrigées à l’aide de calculs d’énergies DFT. Différents chemins de réactions impliquant les transferts d’un proton et d’un hydrure du substrat vers une histidine et une flavine respectivement ont pu être identifiés. Ces transferts peuvent être séquentiels ou concertés suivant la conformation du site actif ou les mutations effectuées. Les surfaces concordent avec les effets observés expérimentalement. Les barrières obtenues restent cependant supérieures à celles attendues ouvrant la voie à d’autres simulations. La décomposition du mécanisme de transfert d’hydrure en transfert d’électron et d’atome d’hydrogène s’appuie sur de longues simulations classiques et des calculs d’énergies au niveau DFT contrainte (cDFT)/MM. La DFT contrainte permet de décrire les états diabatiques associés au transfert d’électron à différents stades du transfert d’hydrogène. En appliquant l’ARL, nous pouvons construire des paraboles correspondant aux états diabatiques et déterminer la séquence des évènements de transfert d'électron et d’hydrogène. La comparaison entre milieux protéique et aqueux nous a permis d’établir que le rôle de la protéine dans le transfert d'hydrure global est de bloquer le transfert d’électron en l’absence du transfert d’hydrogène empêchant ainsi la formation de flavines semi-réduites. / Redox processes involving organic molecules are ubiquitous in proteins. They generally imply global reactions such as Proton Coupled Electron Transfers, hydrogen atom or hydride transfers which can be decomposed into both electrons and proton transfers. Kinetic and thermodynamic information leads to a better understanding of these mechanisms. However, experiments are often limited to a milli- or microsecond timescales. We present here numerical simulations allowing modeling at shorter timescales (femto, pico or nanosecond) to complete experimental data. Many numerical methods combine quantum description (QM) of the active center and classical description (MM) of the environment to describe redox transformations into biological media. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations allowed a conformational sampling of the global system. Nevertheless, depending on their level of description of the QM part, the methods can cost more or less CPU time to get a good conformational sampling. In this thesis, we have studied different redox mechanisms involving both proton and electron transfers with a particular care paid to the balance between quality of the electronic description and of conformational sampling. For each mechanism, the coupled proton and electron transfers are investigated differently. This manuscript thus falls into three parts: i) the evaluation of the redox potentials quinone derivatives ; ii) the mechanistic description of the L-lactate oxidation into pyruvate in the flavocytochrome b2 enzyme; iii) decomposition of the formal hydride transfer occurring between two flavins in EmoB protein. A QM+MM scheme is chosen to evaluate redox potential of quinone cofactors: the electronic behavior is described at DFT level in gas phase while classical MDs provide a large conformational sampling of the molecule and its environment. Deprotonation and oxidation free energies are estimated by applying the linear response approximation (LRA). We finally get a theoretical value of the redox potential for different quinocofactors in water and a calibration curve of these theoretical results in function of experimental data. This curve allowed predictions of quinone redox potentials in water with a good accuracy (less than 0.1 eV). We also try our method on the MADH protein containing a Tryptophan Tryptophilquinone cofactor. However, because of great fluctuations of the environment, the LRA is not suitable for this system. This underlines the limits of our methodology. The oxidation of L-lactate to pyruvate is described by free energy surfaces obtained at AM1/MM level. Biased MDs provide the AM1/MM profile which is then corrected at DFT level. Several reactions pathways have been noticed. They consist in sequential or concerted transfers of a proton from L-lactate to a histidine and a hydride from L-lactate to a flavin cofactor. The coupling between the two transfers depends on the conformation of the active site or on the mutations. The obtained surfaces fit qualitatively the experimental data but the theoretical activation barriers are too high. Other simulations must be explored: different methods, other mechanism... Finally, a combination of long classical MDs and constrained DFT (cDFT)/MM are employed to decompose a hydride transfer between two flavins into one hydrogen atom and one electron transfer. cDFT methodology allow us to describe diabatic states associated to the electron transfer during the hydrogen atom transfer. Applying the LRA, we can build parabola of the diabatic and determine the sequence of the two transfers. The comparison of our results in the EmoB protein or in aqueous medium shows that the protein allows the electron transfer only if the hydrogen atom transfer is happening. By this way, no semi-reduced flavin is created.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de nouvelles molécules organiques par différentes méthodes de spectroscopie. La combinaison de techniques de fluorescence résolue en temps, d'absorption différentielle résolue en temps et de spectro-électro-chimie avec des méthodes d'analyse globale permet de déterminer la photo-dynamique des molécules étudiées.Deux familles de molécules ont été étudiées. La première est une antenne de type donneur basée sur le pigment BODIPY. La seconde consiste en une triade donneur-accepteur-donneur (DAD) ayant des propriétés d'auto-organisation. Après une première génération de mol écules dont on a montré les limitations (temps de vie de l'état transfert de charge très court, d'environ 55 ps), une seconde génération de mol écules a été développée, incluant de nombreuses variations du groupe donneur, ce qui a permis de déterminer l'impact des-dites variations. Entre autres, un temps de vie de l'état transfert de charge de plus d'une nanoseconde est observé. / The topic of this thesis is the study -through different spectroscopy methods- of new organic molecules for photovoltaic applications. Combination of time resolved fuorescence, time resolved differential absorption and spectro-electro-chemistry with global analysis methods allowed to determine the photo-dynamics of the studied molecules. Two familiesof molecules have been studied. The first one is a donor-type antenna based on the BODIPY dye. The second consists in a donor-acceptor-donor (DAD) triad, with self-organizing properties. After a first generation of molecules that we proved to be limited by a short life time of its charge transfer state (about 55 ps), a second generation of molecules wasdeveloped, including several variation of the donor group, which allowed to study the impact of said variation. Among others, a charge transfer state lifetime longer than 1 nanosecond was observed.

L’optimisation de cellules solaires organiques repose sur l’amélioration de différents paramètres électroniques et structuraux. En particulier, les processus de séparation et de transport de charge doivent être optimisés pour obtenir des rendements élevés. Les processus de séparation de charge dans ces dispositifs s’effectuent aux interfaces donneur/accepteur suite à un décalage entre les niveaux électroniques de ces deux matériaux. Suivant leur nature, des interactions aux interfaces peuvent conduire à l’apparition d’un dipôle pouvant favoriser ou défavoriser la génération de charges libres ; toutefois, l’origine de ce dipôle d’interface est très mal connue. Ainsi, la première partie de cette thèse s’est attaché à une meilleure compréhension de l’origine de ce dipôle en appliquant une approche théorique multi-échelle sur un système D/A typique : l’interface pentacène/C60. L’amélioration des cellules solaires organiques repose également sur l’augmentation des longueurs de diffusion d’exciton et de la mobilité des porteurs de charge dans les couches actives. Ainsi, l’extension de l’ordre structural au sein d’une hétérojonction constituée de deux cristaux liquides colonnaires électroniquement complémentaires pourrait aider à améliorer ces paramètres. En deuxième partie, nous avons donc analysé l’impact du désordre structural présent au sein d’un auto-assemblage monodimensionnel de perylène diimide sur les paramètres électroniques gouvernant le transport de charge en couplant des calculs de dynamique moléculaire à des calculs de chimie quantique. Les mobilités des porteurs de charge ont été estimées en simulant des mesures de mobilité en temps de vol calculées dans le cadre du formalisme de Marcus puis comparées à l’expérience. Des résultats préliminaires issus de simulations de dynamique moléculaire sur une hétérojonction entre deux cristaux liquides électroniquement complémentaire récemment synthétisés ont été reportés en dernière partie. / The development of efficient organic solar cells relies on the optimization of different correlated electronic and structural parameters. In particular, efficient charge separation and charge transport processes are essential to get high conversion yields. The charge separation processes in these devices occur at the donor/acceptor interfaces due to the energetic mismatch between the electronic structures of the two materials. Depending on the nature of these materials, interfacial interactions may lead to the appearance of a significant dipole that can help or disadvantage the generation of free charges. However, the origin of this interface dipole is still unclear. Thus, the first part of this thesis presents a multiscale theoretical approach to address the origin of the interface dipole at a prototypical D/A interface: the pentacene/C60 interface. Improving of the conversion efficiency of organic solar cells also relies on the increase of both the exciton diffusion length and of the charge carrier mobilities. For this purpose, a possible route is to expand the structural order inside the heterojunction via the self-organization of two electronically complementary columnar liquid crystals. This point is investigated in the second part of this thesis. First, we address the impact of the structural disorder on the electronic parameters mediating the charge transport properties in a one-dimensional self-assembly of perylene diimides by coupling molecular dynamics simulations to quantum-chemical calculations. The charge carrier mobilities are evaluated by means of time-of-flight numerical simulations in the framework of the Marcus formalism and compared to the experience. Then, we present preliminary results issued from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations on the heterojunction between two recently synthesized electronically complementary discotic liquid crystals.

The development of new electronic devices requires the design of novel materials since the existing technologies are not suitable for all applications. In recent years, semiconducting polymers (SCPs) have evolved as fundamental components for the next generation of costumer electronics. They provide interesting features, especially flexibility, light weight, optical transparency and low-cost processability from solution. The research presented in this thesis was devoted to theoretical studies of donor-acceptor (DA) copolymers formed by electron-deficient 3,6-(dithiophene-2-yl)-diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole (TDPP) and different electron-rich thiophene compounds. This novel type of SCPs has received a lot of attention due to experimental reports on very good electronic properties which yielded record values for organic field-effect transistor applications. In order to get a deeper understanding of the structural and electronic properties, the main objective of this work was to study this material type on the atomic scale by means of electronic structure methods. For this, density functional theory (DFT) methods were used as they are efficient tools to consider the complex molecular structure. This work comprises three main parts: a comparative study of the structural and the electronic properties of TDPP based DA polymers obtained by means of different theory levels, the calculation of the intermolecular charge transfer between pi-pi stacked DA polymer chains based on the Marcus transfer theory and investigations of molecular p-doping of TDPP based DA polymers. For the first, DFT using different functionals was compared to the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) method, which is computationally very efficient. Although differences in structural properties were observed, the DFTB method was found to be the best choice to study DA polymers in the crystalline phase. For the second, correlations between the molecular structure and the reorganization energy are found. Moreover, the dependency of the electronic coupling element on the spatial shape of the frontier orbitals is shown. Furthermore, a Boltzmann-type statistical approach is introduced in order to enable a qualitative comparison of different isomers and chemical structures. For the last part, the p-doping properties of small, multi-polar dopant molecules with local dipole provided by cyano groups were investigated theoretically and compared with experimental observations. The one with the strongest p-doping properties was studied in this work for the first time on a theoretical basis. Comparing these different p-dopants, rich evidence was found supporting the experimentally observed doping strength.