Simple 3,6‐disubstituted Carbazoles as Potential Hole Transport Materials: Photophysical, Electrochemical and Theoretical Studies

Developing effective and low‐cost organic hole‐transporting materials (HTMs) is crucial for the construction of high‐performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and to promote their production in commercial ventures. In this context, we herein report the molecular design, synthesis and characterization of two novel D‐A‐D‐A‐D architectured 9‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐9H‐carbazoles, connecting the mono/dimethoxyphenyl substituted cyanovinylene sidearms symmetrically at 3rd and 6th positions of the carbazole heterocycle (CZ1‐2), as potential hole‐transporting materials (HTMs). The current work highlights their structural, photophysical, thermal, electrochemical and theoretical investigations, including their structure‐property correlation studies. Evidently, the optical studies showcased their excellent fluorescence ability due to their push–pull natured structure with extended π‐conjugation. Further, in‐depth solvatochromic studies demonstrated their intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT)‐dominated optoelectronic behavior, supported by various correlation studies. Also, the optical results revealed that CZ1 and CZ2 display λabs and λemi in the order of 410–430 nm and 530–560 nm, respectively, with a bandgap in the range of 2.5–2.6 eV. Finally, their quantum chemical simulations have provided an insight into the predictions of their structural, molecular, electronic and optical parameters. Conclusively, the study furnishes a deeper understanding of the intricacies involved in the structural modification of carbazole‐based HTMs for achieving better performance. Here, we describe the synthesis of two new D‐A‐D‐A‐D type 3,6‐disubstituted 9‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐9H‐carbazoles CZ1‐2, as potential HTMs and discuss the effect of their structural modification on optical and electrochemical properties. Also, we carried out computational studies.