An Important Key to Design Molecules
with Small Internal Reorganization Energy: Strong Nonbonding Character
in Frontier Orbitals
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Abstract
For an electron to move between molecules (reactants), structural
reorganizations of the reactants and their surrounding molecules are
needed. The energy cost of the reorganizations, which is determined
by structural and electronic features of molecules involved, contributes
to the energy barrier of an electron transfer reaction. Finding the
factors affecting the energy cost is of fundamental and technological
importance. It is believed that extended π-conjugation and a
rigid molecular framework are beneficial for minimizing the energy
cost. We prove with phenalenyl and phthalocyanine derivatives that
the extent of local nonbonding character in frontier molecular orbitals
is in fact more crucial than extended π-conjugation; unprecedented
small energy cost for reorganization has been found with the help
of the nonbonding character. This finding provides a much better understanding
of the literature data, as well as a new focus of the molecular design
of cutting-edge organic electronics materials