Theoretical design of phosphorus-doped perylene derivatives as efficient singlet fission chromophores

Singlet fission (SF) is considered as a promising strategy to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells. However, only a handful of chromophores were observed to undergo SF to date. To broaden the number of SF chromophores, we designed a series of phosphorus-doped perylenes based on the diradical character strategy and examined their SF feasibility using theoretical calculations. By analysis of frontier orbitals, diradical character and aromaticity, SF-capable candidates were prescreened. These analyses reveal that the diradical character of perylene is effectively enhanced by P-doping at bay- and peri-positions of perylene, making SF more thermodynamically feasible. However, the diradical character remains nearly unchanged when P atoms are doped at ortho-positions because the spin center cannot be stabilized, leading to a more endothermic SF. This study shows how SF-related energies and diradical character of SF chromophores are altered by P doping, and extends the SF-capable molecular library. Phosphorus-doped perylene-based singlet fission candidates have been designed and evaluated for extending the library of singlet fission sensitizers.