Exploring ethynyl-based chalcones as green semiconductor materials for optical limiting interests

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Growing interest in fabricating molecular electronics using non-toxic, biodegradable materials.
• Need for functional materials with desirable optical and electronic properties for sustainable devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel ethynylated chalcone derivatives (MM-3a and MM-3b) for molecular electronics.
• To evaluate their performance in solution-processed thin films and assess their non-toxicity.
• To explore their potential in optical limiting applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of ethynylated chalcone derivatives.
• Characterization using techniques like UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent DFT (TD-DFT) simulations for electronic structure analysis.
• Fabrication of solution-processed thin-film devices.
• Toxicity assessment using MTT assay and molecular docking studies.

Main Results:

• Derivatives MM-3a and MM-3b exhibited significant Stokes shifts (75 nm and 116 nm) indicating intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and fluorescence.
• DFT calculations revealed low energy gaps (3.70 eV for MM-3a, 2.81 eV for MM-3b).
• Solution-processed thin films displayed electroluminescence (orange and purple) under DC voltage.
• Preliminary toxicity tests showed no IC50 value, suggesting low toxicity, and weak interactions with profilin protein.

Conclusions:

• Ethynylated chalcone derivatives are promising candidates for non-toxic, solution-processed molecular electronics.
• The synthesized materials demonstrate tunable optical properties and electroluminescence.
• Further investigation into their safety and optical limiting capabilities is warranted.