Carbazole endcapped heterofluorenes as host materials: theoretical study of their structural, electronic, and optical properties

By mimicking the molecular structure of 4,4′-bis(N-carbazolyl)-2,2′-biphenyl (CBP), which is a widely used host material, a new series of host molecules (carbazole-endcapped heterofluorenes, CzHFs) were designed by linking the hole-transporting carbazole to the core heterofluorene molecules in either meta or para positions of the heterofluorene. The aromatic cores considered in this study are biphenyl, fluorene, silafluorenes, germafluorenes, carbazole, phosphafluorene, oxygafluorene, and sulfurafluorene. To reveal their molecular structures, optoelectronic properties and structure-property relationships of the proposed host materials, an in-depth theoretical investigation was elaborated via quantum chemical calculations. The electronic structures in the ground states, cationic and anionic states, and lowest triplet states of these designed molecules have been studied with emphasis on the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs), energy gaps (Eg), triplet energy gaps (3Eg), as well as some other electronic properties including ionization potentials (IPs), electron affinities (EAs), reorganization energies (λ), triplet exciton generation fraction (χT), spin density distributions (SD), and absorption spectra. These photoelectronic properties can be tuned by chemical modifications of the heteroatom and the carbazole substitution at different positions. This study provides theoretical insights into the nature of host molecules, and shows that the designed CzHFs can meet the requirements of the host materials for triplet emitters.