Spectroscopic and Quantum Chemical Investigations of Hypothetical m-Diacetylaminoazopyrimidine and Its Photovoltaic Properties

Abstract

Here, an attempt is made to theoretically study and predict the electronic and spectroscopic (UV-Vis and IR) and structural properties, quantum chemical descriptors and subsequent application of diacetylaminoazopyrimidine in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Ground- and excited-state time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations were carried out using material studio and ORCA software, respectively. The computed ground-state energy gap, chemical hardness, chemical softness, chemical potential, electronegativity and electrophilicity index are: 3.60 eV, 1.80 eV, 0.56 eV, 4.49eV, -4.49 eV and 5.68, respectively. Conversely, the DFT-predicted excited-state quantum chemical descriptors are: 1.67 eV, 0.83 eV, 1.20 eV, 4.71 eV and -4.71 eV, corresponding to the energy gap, chemical hardness, chemical softness, chemical potential and electronegativity, respectively. Furthermore, vibrational frequency calculations confirm the presence of some key functional groups (N=N, C=O, C-H) present in the dye molecules. The computed optoelectronic parameters, such as light-harvesting efficiency, electron injection and open-circuit voltage are 0.06 eV, -8.59 eV and -5.75 eV, respectively. Overall, the dye possesses a relatively good current conversion efficiency as compared to other dyes studied in the literature; hence, it could be used as a novel material for photovoltaic technological applications.

Keywords: Diacetylaminoazopyrimidine, DFT, Excited state, Spectroscopy, DSSCs.