Ionization Energies, Electron Affinities, Bandgaps, Exciton Binding Energies, and Polarization Energies of Orientation-Controlled Picene, [6]-Phenacene, and [7]-Phenacene Thin Films
Abstract
Phenacenes, in which benzene rings are fused in a zigzag manner, are chemically robust π-conjugated hydrocarbons of interest for organic electronic applications and superconductivity. However, quantitative electronic parameters of phenacene thin films remain limited compared with those of acenes. Here, we determine the ionization energies (IEs), electron affinities (EAs), band gaps, exciton binding energies, and polarization energies of orientation-controlled thin films of picene, [6]-phenacene, and [7]-phenacene using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy parameters depend only weakly on molecular size. In contrast, both IE and EA exhibit large orientation-dependent shifts of approximately 1 eV: lying films show IEs of 6.41-6.43 eV and EAs of 2.16-2.42 eV, whereas standing films show IEs of 5.44-5.67 eV and EAs of 1.36-1.53 eV. Nevertheless, the band gaps of approximately 4 eV and exciton binding energies of approximately 1 eV remain nearly independent of molecular size and orientation. Analysis of polarization energies shows that the induction term is nearly orientation independent, whereas the electrostatic term strongly depends on orientation and originates primarily from molecular quadrupole moments. These results identify molecular orientation as a key factor governing frontier energy levels in phenacene thin films.
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BibTeX
@misc{makino2026ionization,
title = {{Ionization Energies, Electron Affinities, Bandgaps, Exciton Binding Energies, and Polarization Energies of Orientation-Controlled Picene, [6]-Phenacene, and [7]-Phenacene Thin Films}},
author = {Rintaro Makino and Mihiro Kubo and Keiichirou Yonezawa and Hiroyuki Yoshida and Satoshi Kera},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.27890},
eprint = {2608.27890},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27890},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Ionization Energies, Electron Affinities, Bandgaps, Exciton Binding Energies, and Polarization Energies of Orientation-Controlled Picene, [6]-Phenacene, and [7]-Phenacene Thin Films
AU - Rintaro Makino
AU - Mihiro Kubo
AU - Keiichirou Yonezawa
AU - Hiroyuki Yoshida
AU - Satoshi Kera
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.27890
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27890
AB - Phenacenes, in which benzene rings are fused in a zigzag manner, are chemically robust π-conjugated hydrocarbons of interest for organic electronic applications and superconductivity. However, quantitative electronic parameters of phenacene thin films remain limited compared with those of acenes. Here, we determine the ionization energies (IEs), electron affinities (EAs), band gaps, exciton binding energies, and polarization energies of orientation-controlled thin films of picene, [6]-phenacene, and [7]-phenacene using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy parameters depend only weakly on molecular size. In contrast, both IE and EA exhibit large orientation-dependent shifts of approximately 1 eV: lying films show IEs of 6.41-6.43 eV and EAs of 2.16-2.42 eV, whereas standing films show IEs of 5.44-5.67 eV and EAs of 1.36-1.53 eV. Nevertheless, the band gaps of approximately 4 eV and exciton binding energies of approximately 1 eV remain nearly independent of molecular size and orientation. Analysis of polarization energies shows that the induction term is nearly orientation independent, whereas the electrostatic term strongly depends on orientation and originates primarily from molecular quadrupole moments. These results identify molecular orientation as a key factor governing frontier energy levels in phenacene thin films.
ER -