No Arabic abstract
Singlet exciton fission (SF), the conversion of one spin-singlet exciton (S1) into two spin-triplet excitons (T1), could provide a means to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit in photovoltaics. SF as measured by the decay of S1 has been shown to occur efficiently and independently of temperature even when the energy of S1 is as much as 200 meV less than 2T1. Here, we study films of TIPS-tetracene using transient optical spectroscopy and show that the initial rise of the triplet pair state (TT) occurs in 300 fs, matched by rapid loss of S1 stimulated emission, and that this process is mediated by the strong coupling of electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom. This is followed by a slower 10 ps morphology-dependent phase of S1 decay and TT growth. We observe the TT to be thermally dissociated on 10-100 ns timescales to form free triplets. This provides a model for temperature independent, efficient TT formation and thermally activated TT separation.
Singlet fission is a process whereby two triplet excitons can be produced from one photon, potentially increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Endothermic singlet fission is desired for maximum energy conversion efficiency, and such systems have been shown to form an excimer-like state with multi-excitonic character prior to the appearance of triplets. However, the role of the excimer as an intermediate has, until now, been unclear. Here we show, using 5,12-bis((triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl)tetracene in solution as a prototypical example, that, rather than acting as an intermediate, the excimer serves to trap excited states, to the detriment of singlet fission yield. We clearly demonstrate that singlet fission and its conjugate process, triplet-triplet annihilation, occur at a longer intermolecular distance than an excimer intermediate would impute. These results establish that an endothermic singlet fission material must be designed that avoids excimer formation, thus allowing singlet fission to reach its full potential in enhancing photovoltaic energy conversion.
Here, a novel deep blue emitter SBABz4 for use in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) is investigated. The molecular design of the emitter enables thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), which we examine by temperature-dependent time-resolved electroluminescence (trEL) and photoluminescence (trPL). We show that the dihedral angle between donor and acceptor strongly affects the oscillator strength of the charge transfer state alongside the singlet-triplet gap. The angular dependence of the singlet-triplet gap is calculated by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). A gap of 15 meV is calculated for the relaxed ground state configuration of SBABz4 with a dihedral angle between the donor and acceptor moieties of 86{deg}. Surprisingly, an experimentally obtained energy gap of 72+/-5 meV can only be explained by torsion angles in the range of 70{deg}-75{deg}. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed that SBABz4 evaporated at high temperature acquires a distribution of torsion angles, which immediately leads to the experimentally obtained energy gap. Moreover, the emitter orientation anisotropy in a host matrix shows an 80% ratio of horizontally oriented dipoles, which is highly desirable for efficient light outcoupling. Understanding intramolecular donor-acceptor geometry in evaporated films is crucial for OLED applications, because it affects oscillator strength and TADF efficiency.
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.
Recent time-resolved spectroscopic experiments have indicated that vibronic coupling plays a vital role in facilitating the process of singlet fission. In this work, which forms the first article of a series, we set out to unravel the mechanisms underlying singlet fission through a vibronic exciton theory. We formulate a model in which both electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom are treated microscopically and non-perturbatively. Using pentacene as a prototypical material for singlet fission, we subject our theory to comparison with measurements on polarization-resolved absorption of single crystals, and employ our model to characterize the excited states underlying the absorption band. Special attention is given to convergence of photophysical observables with respect to the basis size employed, through which we determine the optimal basis for more expensive calculations to be presented in subsequent work. We furthermore evaluate the energetic separation between the optically prepared singlet excited state and the correlated triplet pair state, as well as provide a real-space characterization of the latter, both of which are of key importance in the discussion of fission dynamics. We discuss our results in the context of recent experimental studies.
Singlet fission, the molecular process through which photons are effectively converted into pairs of lower energy triplet excitons, holds promise as a means of boosting photovoltaic device efficiencies. In the preceding article of this series, we formulated a vibronic theory of singlet fission, inspired by previous experimental and theoretical studies suggesting that vibronic coupling plays an important role in fission dynamics. Here, we extend our model in order to simulate two-dimensional electronic spectra, through which the theory is further validated based on a comparison to recent measurements on pentacene crystals. Moreover, by means of such spectral simulations, we provide new insights into the nature of the correlated triplet pair state, the first product intermediate in the fission process. In particular, we address a disagreement in the literature regarding the identification, energies, and transition dipole moments of its optical transitions towards higher-lying triplet states.