Impact of Electrostatic Disorder on Intramolecular Electronic Coupling in Organic Mixed Ionic–Electronic Conductors: A Combined GRRM, MD, and QM/MM-CDFT Study

TL;DR

This study explores how electrostatic disorder affects charge transport in organic conductors used in bioelectronics.

Contribution

A multi-scale computational framework was developed to analyze doping-dependent electronic coupling in OMIECs.

Findings

75% doped systems show stronger counter-ion confinement and distinct electrostatic landscapes.

Doping-induced disorder significantly modulates intramolecular transport efficiency.

Computed coupling distributions correlate with local electrostatic fluctuations from counter-ion arrangements.

Abstract

Organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors (OMIECs) are pivotal for bioelectronics; however, the microscopic origins of doping-dependent charge transport remain elusive. In this study, we established a multi-scale computational framework to quantify the distinct intramolecular electronic coupling (Hab) distributions in systems with 25% and 75% doping levels. Our protocol employs automated quantum chemical calculations to exhaustively identify intrinsic local minima, ensuring thermodynamically stable initial conformations. Subsequent Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations characterize the equilibration timescales and counter-ion dispersion behaviors. The simulation results reveal that the 75% doped system exhibits significantly stronger counter-ion confinement and a distinct electrostatic landscape compared to the 25% system. Finally, hybrid QM/MM calculations integrated with Constrained Density Functional Theory (CDFT) were utilized to evaluate Hab within these specific environments. The computed coupling distributions show a clear correlation with local electrostatic fluctuations induced by differing counter-ion arrangements. These findings indicate that doping-induced environmental disorder is a critical factor modulating intramolecular transport efficiency, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing OMIEC performance through electrostatic engineering.

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