Theoretical Investigation on the Effect of Protonation on the Absorption and Emission Spectra of Two Amine-Group-Bearing, Red “Push−Pull” Emitters, 4-Dimethylamino-4′-nitrostilbene and 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-p-(dimethylamino) styryl-4H-pyran, by DFT and TDDFT Calculations

A theoretical investigation on the electronic structure of 4-dimethylamino-4'-nitrostilbene (DANS), 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-p-(dimethylamino) styryl-4H-pyran (DCM), and their protonated forms is presented in an effort to rationalize recent experimental results on the tuning of the emitted color of organic light-emitting diodes through photochemically induced protonation. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations have been carried out on the neutral and protonated forms of DANS and DCM, employing both the B3LYP and the CAM-B3LYP functionals. It was found that the CAM-B3LYP functional leads to better agreement than the B3LYP of the calculated with the experimental absorption lambda(max) for DANS, whereas B3LYP is more appropriate than CAM-B3LYP for DCM. The results of the calculations aid in a rationalization of the observed differences of the spectra of DANS and DCM upon protonation, and in particular those differences that make DANS a more attractive system for absorbance and emission tuning.