The shape selectivity of corannulene dimers based on concave-convex and convex-convex shape complementarity as hosts for C60 and C70

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2021 Jan 6;23(1):405-414. doi: 10.1039/d0cp03253k.

Abstract

In the formation of noncovalent complexes, the stacking arrangements of corannulene and fullerene are diverse, most of which are combinations of multiple corannulenes and fullerene. Here, a composition ratio of 2 : 1 was selected for the complex between corannulene and fullerene (C60 and C70) to investigate the effects of different superposition modes, including concave-convex and convex-convex interactions, on the stability and third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the composite materials. It was found that the concave-convex interaction was stronger and it was reported to stabilize the charge-transfer (CT) complex more effectively than the convex-convex interaction. The dispersion range of the concave-convex interaction was larger than that of the convex-convex interaction, which is consistent with the interaction energy results. The packing design with the double convex-convex interactions exhibited the largest linear optical response and third-order NLO response, which showed that the convex-convex interaction was more likely to be excited and cause intermolecular CT as compared to the concave-convex interaction. This work confirmed that the packing arrangement significantly affected the NLO response and will advance the development of NLO crystals.