Solute-solvent interaction and DFT studies on bromonaphthofuran 1,3,4-oxadiazole fluorophores for optoelectronic applications

In the present work, computational and experimental studies were carried out to explore the photophysical properties of bromonaphthofuran substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives for optoelectronic applications. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to demonstrate the electronic and optical properties of the synthesised molecules. The theoretical ground state dipole moments of the fluorophores in gas and solvent environments were also computed using Gaussian 09W software. Further, the HOMO-LUMO energies of the fluorophores determined using DFT agree well with the experimental values. Molecular electrostatic potential 3D plots were used to identify the sites which are electrophilic and nucleophilic in nature. Dipole moment of both the fluorophores in ground and excited states were determined experimentally. The excited state dipole moments being higher than that of the ground state shows the redistribution of electron densities in the excited state than in the ground state in both the fluorophores. The solute-solvent interactions, both specific and non-specific, were assessed using Catalan parameters. Further, the nature of chemical reactivity was determined based on global descriptors. The photophysical properties of the fluorophores studied suggest their potential use as promising candidates for organic light emitting diode (OLED), solar cell and chemosensor applications.