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Register a new userUnraveling the chromophoric disorder of poly(3-hexylthiophene)
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The spectral breadth of conjugated polymers gives these materials a clear advantage over other molecular compounds for organic photovoltaic applications and is a key factor in recent efficiencies topping 10%. But why do excitonic transitions, which are inherently narrow, lead to absorption over such a broad range of wavelengths in the first place? Using single-molecule spectroscopy, we address this fundamental question in a model material, poly(3-hexylthiophene). Narrow zero-phonon lines from single chromophores are found to scatter over 200nm, an unprecedented inhomogeneous broadening which maps the ensemble. The giant red-shift between solution and bulk films arises from energy transfer to the lowest-energy chromophores in collapsed polymer chains which adopt a highly-ordered morphology. We propose that the extreme energetic disorder of chromophores is structural in origin. This structural disorder on the single-chromophore level may actually enable the high degree of polymer chain ordering found in bulk films: both structural order and disorder are crucial to materials physics in devices.
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Control of chain length and morphology in combination with single-molecule spectroscopy techniques provide a comprehensive photophysical picture of excited-state losses in the prototypical conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). A universal self-quenching mechanism is revealed, based on singlet-triplet exciton annihilation, which accounts for the dramatic loss in fluorescence quantum yield of a single P3HT chain between its solution (unfolded) and bulk-like (folded) state. Triplet excitons fundamentally limit the fluorescence of organic photovoltaic materials, which impacts on the conversion of singlet excitons to separated charge carriers, decreasing the efficiency of energy harvesting at high excitation densities. Interexcitonic interactions are so effective that a single P3HT chain of >100 kDa weight behaves like a two-level system, exhibiting perfect photon-antibunching.
Here we report a record thermoelectric power factor of up to 160 $mu$ W m-1 K-2 for the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). This result is achieved through the combination of high-temperature rubbing of thin films together with the use of a large molybdenum dithiolene p-dopant with a high electron affinity. Comparison of the UV-vis-NIR spectra of the chemically doped samples to electrochemically oxidized material reveals an oxidation level of 10%, i.e. one polaron for every 10 repeat units. The high power factor arises due to an increase in the charge-carrier mobility and hence electrical conductivity along the rubbing direction. We conclude that P3HT, with its facile synthesis and outstanding processability, should not be ruled out as a potential thermoelectric material.
Triplet excitons have been the focus of considerable attention with regards to the functioning of polymer solar cells, because these species are long-lived and quench subsequently generated singlet excitons in their vicinity. The role of triplets in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has been investigated extensively with contrary conclusions regarding their importance. We probe the various roles triplets can play in P3HT by analyzing the photoluminescence (PL) from isolated single-chain aggregates and multi-chain mesoscopic aggregates. Solvent vapor annealing allows deterministic growth of P3HT aggregates consisting of ~20 chains, which exhibit red-shifted and broadened PL compared to single-chain aggregates. The multi-chain aggregates exhibit a decrease of photon antibunching contrast compared to single-chain aggregates, implying rather weak interchain excitonic coupling and energy transfer. Nevertheless, the influence of triplet-quenching oxygen on PL and a photon correlation analysis of aggregate PL reveal that triplets are quenched by intermolecular interactions in the bulk state.
Blinking of the photoluminescence (PL) emitted from individual conjugated polymer chains is one of the central observations made by single-molecule spectroscopy (SMS). Important information, e.g., regarding excitation energy transfer, can be extracted by evaluating dynamic quenching. However, the nature of trap states, which are responsible for PL quenching, often remains obscured. We present a detailed investigation of the photon statistics of single poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) chains obtained by SMS. The photon statistics provide a measure of the number and brightness of independently emitting areas on a single chain. These observables can be followed during blinking. A decrease in PL intensity is shown to be correlated with either (i) a decrease in the average brightness of the emitting sites; or (ii) a decrease in the number of emitting regions. We attribute these phenomena to the formation of (i) shallow charge traps, which can weakly affect all emitting areas of a single chain at once; and (ii) deep traps, which have a strong effect on small regions within the single chains.
Eumelanin is regarded to be an attractive candidate material for biomedical applications. Despite many theoretical studies exploring the structure of eumelanin, an exact mapping of the energetic landscape of the very large phase space of eumelanin is still elusive. In this work, we implement a piecewise Ising Model to predict formation enthalpies of Eumelanin single and double tetramers, and demonstrate its superior predictive and generalizable capabilities. We believe this model will prove very useful in theoretically characterizing the many unique properties attributed to its disorder. The modular nature of the predictive Ising model built up in this work is well-suited for analysis and characterization of a larger phase space of eumelanin polymers, including hexamers and octomers, as well as larger stacked structures, such as potential triple and quadruple eumelanin tetramers. Absorbance data can be incorporated with population-wide predictions of polymer abundance to produce weighted-average predictions of broadband absorbance of bulk eumelanin.
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