Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
1-5-2023
Year of Publication
2023
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Chemistry
Advisor
Chad M. Risko
Abstract
The immense synthetic design space and material versatility have driven the exploration and development of organic semiconductors (OSC) over several decades. While many OSC designs focus on the chemistries of the molecular or polymer building blocks, a priori, multiscale control over the solid-state morphology is required for effective application of the active layer in a given technology. However, molecular assembly during solid-state formation is a complex function interconnecting the building block chemistry and the processing environment. Insufficient knowledge as to how these aspects engage, especially at the atomistic and molecular scales, has so far limited the ability to predict OSC solid-state morphology, leaving Edisonian approaches as the stalwart methods. Therefore, through multiscale simulations combining atomistic quantum scale modeling and state-of-the-art molecular dynamics (MD) techniques, we aim to establish first principles understanding required to synthetically regulate solid-state morphology of organic semiconductors (OSC) as a function of molecular chemistry and processing. In turn, we try to understand the deceivingly simple yet complex mechanisms behind molecular aggregation and crystallization of OSC. Simultaneously, we develop semi-to-fully automated high-throughput schemes to automate the complex and labor-intensive analyses to generate data based on various crystal structures in different crystallization environments. Ultimately, we aim to bridge molecular-scale information revealed on solid-state physical organization, understood in the context of chromophore chemistry and the molecular environment, with the macro scale properties to uncover useful guidelines for rational design and morphology regulation of OSC systems.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2023.021
Funding Information
This work was funded in part by the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR YIP) through award number N00014-18-1-2448.
Recommended Citation
Karunasena, Chamikara D., "TRANSLATING CHEMISTRY, STRUCTURE, AND PROCESSING TO THE SOLID-STATE MORPHOLOGY AND FUNCTION OF ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTORS THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AND SIMULATIONS" (2023). Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry. 173.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/chemistry_etds/173
Included in
Computational Chemistry Commons, Materials Chemistry Commons, Organic Chemistry Commons, Physical Chemistry Commons
