Design of Promising Heptacoordinated Organotin (IV) Complexes-PEDOT: PSS-Based Composite for New-Generation Optoelectronic Devices Applications

The synthesis of four mononuclear heptacoordinated organotin (IV) complexes of mixed ligands derived from tridentated Schiff bases and pyrazinecarboxylic acid is reported. This organotin (IV) complexes were prepared by using a multicomponent reaction, the reaction proceeds in moderate to good yields (64% to 82%). The complexes were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, 1H, 13C, and 119Sn nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and elemental analysis. The spectroscopic analysis revealed that the tin atom is seven-coordinate in solution and that the carboxyl group acts as monodentate ligand. To determine the effect of the substituent on the optoelectronic properties of the organotin (IV) complexes, thin films were deposited, and the optical bandgap was obtained. A bandgap between 1.88 and 1.98 eV for the pellets and between 1.23 and 1.40 eV for the thin films was obtained. Later, different types of optoelectronic devices with architecture “contacts up/base down” were manufactured and analyzed to compare their electrical behavior. The design was intended to generate a composite based on the synthetized heptacoordinated organotin (IV) complexes embedded on the poly(3,4-ethylenedyoxithiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). A Schottky curve at low voltages (<1.5 mV) and a current density variation of as much as ~3 × 10−5 A/cm2 at ~1.1 mV was observed. A generated photocurrent was of approximately 10−7 A and a photoconductivity between 4 × 10−9 and 7 × 10−9 S/cm for all the manufactured structures. The structural modifications on organotin (IV) complexes were focused on the electronic nature of the substituents and their ability to contribute to the electronic delocalization via the π system. The presence of the methyl group, a modest electron donor, or the non-substitution on the aromatic ring, has a reduced effect on the electronic properties of the molecule. However, a strong effect in the electronic properties of the material can be inferred from the presence of electron-withdrawing substituents like chlorine, able to reduce the gap energies.