Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology

A novel series of donor (D)-p-acceptor (A) merocyanine molecules harnessed with intramolecular chalcogen bonding (ChaB) is designed, synthesized, and characterized. ChaB comprises periodic chalcogen atoms, S, Se, and Te and a neighboring oxygen atom of carbonyl moiety. Compared to the D-p-A merocyanine dye with nontraditional intramolecular hydrogen bonding, the novel molecule with an intramolecular ChaB exhibits remarkably smaller absorption spectral widths and higher absorption coefficients attributed to their cyanine-like characteristics approaching the resonance parameter (c²) ~0.5; further, it exhibits better thermal stabilities and electrical charge？carrier transporting properties in films. These novel D？p？A merocyanines harnessed with intramolecular ChaB networks are successfully utilized in high-performance color-selective organic photon-to-current conversion optoelectronic devices with excellent thermal stabilities. This study reported that the unique intramolecular ChaB plays an essential role in locking the molecular conformation of merocyanine molecules and enhancing the optical, thermal, and optoelectronic properties of high-performance, high-efficiency organic photon-to-current conversion devices.