Investigation of Solvent Effects on the Molecular Energy Storage and Optical Properties of Bicyclooctadiene/Tetracyclooctane Photoswitches

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In this paper, we investigate the effects of solvation on the solar energy storage properties of bicyclooctadiene/tetracyclooctane (BOD/TCO) photoswitches. The solvent effects on the thermochemical and optical properties are studied in cyclohexane, toluene, dichloromethane, ethanol, acetonitrile, and a vacuum using density functional theory and coupled cluster theory. Our results show that the energy storage capacity of the BOD/TCO system increases as the solvent polarity increases, and the change is more significant with an unsubstituted system. The energy storage capacity of the substituted system is not dependent on the polarity of the solvent. As the solvent polarity increases, the absorption peaks shift away from each other and the absorption intensities increase. Overall, the solvents improve the performance of the optical properties and the energy storage capacities of the BOD/TCO molecular solar thermal systems.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry A
Volume128
Pages (from-to)41-50
Number of pages10
ISSN1089-5639
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Financial support is acknowledged from the European Commission (grant no. 765739) and the Danish Council for Independent Research, DFF-0136-00081B.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Chemical Society.

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