Different Rates of Singlet Fission in Monoclinic versus Orthorhombic Crystal Forms of Diphenylhexatriene

Triplet transport in thin films: fundamentals and applications

An overview of experimental and theoretical work on triplet energy transfer, with a focus on triplet transport in thin films.

Direct Observation of a Charge-Transfer State Preceding High-Yield Singlet Fission in Terrylenediimide Thin Films

Singlet exciton fission (SF) in organic chromophore assemblies results in the conversion of one singlet exciton (S₁) into two triplet excitons (T₁), provided that the overall process is exoergic, i.e., E(S₁) > 2E(T₁). We report on SF in thin polycrystalline films of two terrylene-3,4:11,12-bis(dicarboximide) (TDI) derivatives 1 and 2, which crystallize into two distinct π-stacked structures. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fsTA) reveals a charge-transfer state preceding a 190% T₁ yield in films of 1, where the π-stacked TDI molecules are rotated by 23° along an axis perpendicular to their π systems. In contrast, when the TDI molecules are slip-stacked along their N-N axes in films of 2, fsTA shows excimer formation, followed by a 50% T₁ yield.

On couplings and excimers: lessons from studies of singlet fission in covalently linked tetracene dimers

Electronic factors controlling singlet fission (SF) rates are investigated in covalently linked dimers of tetracene. Using covalent linkers, relative orientation of the individual chromophores can be controlled, maximizing the rates of SF. Structures with coplanar and staggered arrangements of tetracene moieties are considered. The electronic structure calculations and three-state kinetic model for SF rates provide explanations for experimentally observed low SF yields in coplanar dimers and efficient SF in staggered dimers. The calculations illuminate the role of the excimer formation in SF process. The structural relaxation in the S1 state leads to the increased rate of the multi-exciton (ME) state formation, but impedes the second step, separation of the ME state into independent triplets. The slower second step reduces SF yield by allowing other processes, such as radiationless relaxation, to compete with triplet generation. The calculations of electronic couplings also suggest an increased rate of radiationless relaxation at the excimer geometries. Thus, the excimer serves as a trap of the ME state. The effect of covalent linkers on the electronic factors and SF rates is investigated. In all considered structures, the presence of the linker leads to larger couplings, however, the effect on the overall rate is less straightforward, since the linkers generally result in less favorable energetics. This complex behavior once again illustrates the importance of integrative approaches that evaluate the overall rate, rather than focusing on specific electronic factors such as energies or couplings.

Two Birds with One Stone: Tailoring Singlet Fission for Both Triplet Yield and Exciton Diffusion Length

By direct imaging of singlet and triplet populations with ultrafast microscopy, it is shown that the triplet diffusion length and singlet fission yield can be simultaneously optimized for tetracene and its derivatives, making them ideal structures for application in bilayer solar cells.

Singlet Fission via an Excimer-Like Intermediate in 3,6-Bis(thiophen-2-yl)diketopyrrolopyrrole Derivatives

Singlet fission (SF) in polycrystalline thin films of four 3,6-bis(thiophen-2-yl)diketopyrrolopyrrole (TDPP) chromophores with methyl (Me), n-hexyl (C6), triethylene glycol (TEG), and 2-ethylhexyl (EH) substituents at the 2,5-positions is found to involve an intermediate excimer-like state. The four different substituents yield four distinct intermolecular packing geometries, resulting in variable intermolecular charge transfer (CT) interactions in the solid. SF from the excimer state of Me, C6, TEG, and EH takes place in τSF = 22, 336, 195, and 1200 ps, respectively, to give triplet yields of 200%, 110%, 110%, and 70%, respectively. The transient spectra of the excimer-like state and its energetic proximity to the lowest excited singlet state in these derivatives suggests that this state may be the multiexciton (1)(T1T1) state that precedes formation of the uncorrelated triplet excitons. The excimer decay rates correlate well with the SF efficiencies and the degree of intermolecular donor-acceptor interactions resulting from π-stacking of the thiophene donor of one molecule with the DPP core acceptor in another molecule as observed in the crystal structures. Such interactions are found to also increase with the SF coupling energies, as calculated for each derivative. These structural and spectroscopic studies afford a better understanding of the electronic interactions that enhance SF in chromophores having strong intra- and intermolecular CT character.

Enabling singlet fission by controlling intramolecular charge transfer in π-stacked covalent terrylenediimide dimers

When an assembly of two or more molecules absorbs a photon to form a singlet exciton, and the energetics and intermolecular interactions are favourable, the singlet exciton can rapidly and spontaneously produce two triplet excitons by singlet fission. To understand this process is important because it may prove to be technologically significant for enhancing solar-cell performance. Theory strongly suggests that charge-transfer states are involved in singlet fission, but their role has remained an intriguing puzzle and, up until now, no molecular system has provided clear evidence for such a state. Here we describe a terrylenediimide dimer that forms a charge-transfer state in a few picoseconds in polar solvents, and undergoes equally rapid, high-yield singlet fission in nonpolar solvents. These results show that adjusting the charge-transfer-state energy relative to those of the exciton states can serve to either inhibit or promote singlet fission.

Effect of packing motifs on the energy ranking and electronic properties of putative crystal structures of tricyano-1,4-dithiino[c]-isothiazole

We present an analysis of putative structures of tricyano-1,4-dithiino[c]-isothiazole (TCS3), generated within the sixth crystal structure prediction blind test. Typical packing motifs are identified and characterized in terms of distinct patterns of close contacts and regions of electrostatic and dispersion interactions. We find that different dispersion-inclusive density functional theory (DFT) methods systematically favor specific packing motifs, which may affect the outcome of crystal structure prediction efforts. The effect of crystal packing on the electronic and optical properties of TCS3 is investigated using many-body perturbation theory within the GW approximation and the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE). We find that a structure with Pna21 symmetry and a bilayer packing motif exhibits intermolecular bonding patterns reminiscent of π-π stacking and has markedly different electronic and optical properties than the experimentally observed P21/n structure with a cyclic dimer motif, including a narrower band gap, enhanced band dispersion and broader optical absorption. The Pna21 bilayer structure is close in energy to the observed structure and may be feasible to grow.

Solution-Phase Singlet Fission in a Structurally Well-Defined Norbornyl-Bridged Tetracene Dimer

The photophysics of a norbornyl-bridged covalent tetracene (Tc) dimer BT1 and a monomer analogue Tc-e were studied in room-temperature nonpolar solvents. Notably in BT1, a Davydov-split band is observed in UV absorption, heralding interchromophore electronic interactions. Emission spectra indicate an acene-like vibronic progression mirroring the lowest-energy visible absorption. For BT1, this argues against excited-state excimer formation. Evidence of intramolecular singlet fission (SF) comes from a comparison of time-resolved emission decay signals collected for BT1 versus Tc-e in toluene. In BT1, the multiexcitonic (1)TT state is produced in 70 ns in 6% yield. A ratio of fission versus fusion rate constants provides an experimental measure of the SF reaction free energy at 52 meV in good agreement with previous calculations. The low SF yield corroborates our expectations that orbital symmetry effects on diabatic coupling for SF are important for dimers that cannot rely on more favorable thermodynamics.

A Direct Mechanism of Ultrafast Intramolecular Singlet Fission in Pentacene Dimers

Interest in materials that undergo singlet fission (SF) has been catalyzed by the potential to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit of solar power conversion efficiency. In conventional materials, the mechanism of SF is an intermolecular process (xSF), which is mediated by charge transfer (CT) states and depends sensitively on crystal packing or molecular collisions. In contrast, recently reported covalently coupled pentacenes yield ∼2 triplets per photon absorbed in individual molecules: the hallmark of intramolecular singlet fission (iSF). However, the mechanism of iSF is unclear. Here, using multireference electronic structure calculations and transient absorption spectroscopy, we establish that iSF can occur via a direct coupling mechanism that is independent of CT states. We show that a near-degeneracy in electronic state energies induced by vibronic coupling to intramolecular modes of the covalent dimer allows for strong mixing between the correlated triplet pair state and the local excitonic state, despite weak direct coupling.

Polymorphism influences singlet fission rates in tetracene thin films

We report the effect of crystal structure and crystallite grain size on singlet fission (SF) in polycrystalline tetracene, one of the most widely studied SF and organic semiconductor materials. SF has been comprehensively studied in one polymoprh (Tc I), but not in the other, less stable polymorph (Tc II). Using carefully controlled thermal evaporation deposition conditions and high sensitivity ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, we found that for large crystallite size samples, SF in nearly pure Tc II films is significantly faster than SF in Tc I films. We also discovered that crystallite size has a minimal impact on the SF rate in Tc II films, but a significant influence in Tc I films. Large crystallites exhibit SF times of 125 ps and 22 ps in Tc I and Tc II, respectively, whereas small crystallites have SF times of 31 ps and 33 ps. Our results demonstrate first, that attention must be paid to polymorphism in obtaining a self-consistent rate picture for SF in tetracene and second, that control of polymorphism can play a significant role towards achieving a mechanistic understanding of SF in polycrystalline systems. In this latter context we show that conventional theory based on non-covalent tetracene couplings is insufficient, thus highlighting the need for models that capture the delocalized and highly mobile nature of excited states in elucidating the full photophysical picture.

Charge transfer-mediated singlet fission

Singlet fission, the splitting of a singlet exciton into two triplet excitons in molecular materials, is interesting not only as a model many-electron problem, but also as a process with potential applications in solar energy conversion. Here we discuss limitations of the conventional four-electron and molecular dimer model in describing singlet fission in crystalline organic semiconductors, such as pentacene and tetracene. We emphasize the need to consider electronic delocalization, which is responsible for the decisive role played by the Mott-Wannier exciton, also called the charge transfer (CT) exciton, in mediating singlet fission. At the strong electronic coupling limit, the initial excitation creates a quantum superposition of singlet, CT, and triplet-pair states, and we present experimental evidence for this interpretation. We also discuss the most recent attempts at translating this mechanistic understanding into design principles for CT state-mediated intramolecular singlet fission in oligomers and polymers.

Synthesis and photophysical properties of a “face-to-face” stacked tetracene dimer

The first “face-to-face” stacked tetracene dimer is prepared and its photophysical properties are studied.

Singlet Fission: From Coherences to Kinetics

Singlet fission, in which an initially excited singlet state spontaneously splits into a pair of triplet excitons, is a process that can potentially boost the efficiency of solar energy conversion. The separate electronic bands in organic semiconductors make them especially useful for dividing a high-energy singlet exciton into a pair of lower-energy triplet excitons. Recent experiments illustrate the role of spin coherence in fission, while kinetic models are used to describe how triplet and singlet states interact on longer time scales. Despite insights gained from recent experiments, the detailed structure and dynamics of the electronic states involved in the initial step of singlet fission remain active areas of investigation. On longer time scales, finding ways to efficiently harvest the triplet excitons will be an important challenge for making devices based on this phenomenon. A full understanding of singlet fission requires consideration of a sequence of photophysical events (decoherence, relaxation, and diffusion) occurring on different time scales.

Geminate and nongeminate recombination of triplet excitons formed by singlet fission

We report the simultaneous observation of geminate and nongeminate triplet-triplet annihilation in a solution-processable small molecule TIPS-tetracene undergoing singlet exciton fission. Using optically detected magnetic resonance, we identify recombination of triplet pairs directly following singlet fission, as well as recombination of triplet excitons undergoing bimolecular triplet-triplet annihilation. We show that the two processes give rise to distinct magnetic resonance spectra, and estimate the interaction between geminate triplet excitons to be 60 neV.

Mechanism of singlet fission in thin films of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran

In order to elucidate the mechanism of singlet fission in thin films of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (1) we have performed ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy as a function of sample temperature and excitation fluence on polycrystalline thin films composed of two polymorphs. Our earlier investigations revealed that films enriched in a particular polymorph of 1 displayed near 200% efficiency for triplet formation at 77 K, while films composed primarily of a second polymorph had a very low triplet quantum yield. Present data confirm the triplet yield disparities in the two polymorphs and demonstrate the distinct fates of the initially prepared singlets in films of different structure. Singlet fission is inhibited in the more stable polymorph due to rapid excimer formation and trapping. The less stable polymorph undergoes highly efficient singlet fission with a dominant time constant of 10-30 ps and without strong thermal activation. Transient absorption measurements with varying excitation fluence indicate that singlet-singlet annihilation is a primary competitor of singlet fission at higher fluence and that fission from higher-lying states can also contribute to the triplet formation process. Measurements employing different excitation energies and sample temperatures reveal the role that trapping processes play in attenuating the triplet quantum yield to produce the complex temperature dependence of the singlet fission yield. The rate constants for singlet fission itself are essentially temperature independent.