Exciton diffusion and relaxation in methyl-substituted polyparaphenylene polymer films

Exciton annihilation and diffusion length in disordered multichromophoric nanoparticles

Efficient exciton transport is the essential property of natural and synthetic light-harvesting (LH) devices. Here we investigate exciton transport properties in LH organic polymer nanoparticles (ONPs) of 40 nm diameter. The ONPs are loaded with a rhodamine B dye derivative and bulky counterion, enabling dye loadings as high as 0.3 M, while preserving fluorescence quantum yields larger than 30%. We use time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor exciton-exciton annihilation (EEA) kinetics within the ONPs dispersed in water. We demonstrate that unlike the common practice for photoluminescence investigations of EEA, the non-uniform intensity profile of the excitation light pulse must be taken into account to analyse reliably intensity-dependent population dynamics. Alternatively, a simple confocal detection scheme is demonstrated, which enables (i) retrieving the correct value for the bimolecular EEA rate which would otherwise be underestimated by a typical factor of three, and (ii) revealing minor EEA by-products otherwise unnoticed. Considering the ONPs as homogeneous rigid solutions of weakly interacting dyes, we postulate an incoherent exciton hoping mechanism to infer a diffusion constant exceeding 0.003 cm2 s-1 and a diffusion length as large as 70 nm. This work demonstrates the success of the present ONP design strategy at engineering efficient exciton transport in disordered multichromophoric systems.

Picosecond time-resolved photon antibunching measures nanoscale exciton motion and the true number of chromophores

The particle-like nature of light becomes evident in the photon statistics of fluorescence from single quantum systems as photon antibunching. In multichromophoric systems, exciton diffusion and subsequent annihilation occurs. These processes also yield photon antibunching but cannot be interpreted reliably. Here we develop picosecond time-resolved antibunching to identify and decode such processes. We use this method to measure the true number of chromophores on well-defined multichromophoric DNA-origami structures, and precisely determine the distance-dependent rates of annihilation between excitons. Further, this allows us to measure exciton diffusion in mesoscopic H- and J-type conjugated-polymer aggregates. We distinguish between one-dimensional intra-chain and three-dimensional inter-chain exciton diffusion at different times after excitation and determine the disorder-dependent diffusion lengths. Our method provides a powerful lens through which excitons can be studied at the single-particle level, enabling the rational design of improved excitonic probes such as ultra-bright fluorescent nanoparticles and materials for optoelectronic devices.

Ultrafast polaron-pair dynamics in a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) device influenced by a static electric field: insights into electric-field-related charge loss

Photogenerated polaron-pair ultrafast dynamics in poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based devices are found to be influenced by external electric fields via delayed field-induced singlet exciton dissociation, yielding a bimolecular decay contribution.

Photoinduced charge generation rates in soluble P3HT : PCBM nano-aggregates predict the solvent-dependent film morphology

The device efficiency of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells is critically dependent on the nano-morphology of the solution-processed polymer : fullerene blend. Active control on blend morphology can only emanate from a detailed understanding of solution structures during the film casting process. Here we use photoinduced charge transfer (CT) rates to probe the effective length scale of the pre-formed solution structures and their energy disorder arising from a mixture of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in three different organic solvents. The observed solvent-dependent ultrafast biphasic rise of the transient polaron state in solution along with changes detected in the C=C stretching frequency of bound PCBM provides direct evidence for film-like P3HT : PCBM interfaces in solution. Using the diffusive component of the charge transfer rate, we deduce ∼3-times larger functional nano-domain size in toluene than in chlorobenzene thereby correctly predicting the relative polymer nanofiber widths observed in annealed films. We thus provide first experimental evidence for the postulated polymer : fullerene : solvent ternary phase that seeds the eventual morphology in spin-cast films. Our work motivates the design of new chemical additives to tune the grain size of the evolving polymer : fullerene domains within the solution phase.

Organic-Inorganic Composites of Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Efficient Excitonics

Nanocomposites of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals integrated into conjugated polymers are the key to soft-material hybrid optoelectronics, combining advantages of both plastics and particles. Synergic combination of the favorable properties in the hybrids of colloidal nanocrystals and conjugated polymers offers enhanced performance and new functionalities in light-generation and light-harvesting applications, where controlling and mastering the excitonic interactions at the nanoscale are essential. In this Perspective, we highlight and critically consider the excitonic interactions in the organic-inorganic nanocomposites to achieve highly efficient exciton transfer through rational design of the nanocomposites. The use of strong excitonic interactions in optoelectronic devices can trigger efficiency breakthroughs in hybrid optoelectronics.

Exciton intrachain transport induced by interchain packing configurations in conjugated polymers

Exciton intrachain transport in polymers induced by the driving force resulting from the gradient of exciton creation energy along chains.

Study of exciton transfer in dense quantum dot nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) integrated into conjugated polymers (CPs) are key to hybrid optoelectronics, where engineering the excitonic interactions at the nanoscale is crucial. For such excitonic operation, it was believed that exciton diffusion is essential to realize nonradiative energy transfer from CPs to QDs. In this study, contrary to the previous literature, efficient exciton transfer is demonstrated in the nanocomposites of dense QDs, where exciton transfer can be as efficient as 80% without requiring the assistance of exciton diffusion. This is enabled by uniform dispersion of QDs at high density (up to ∼70 wt%) in the nanocomposite while avoiding phase segregation. Theoretical modeling supports the experimental observation of weakly temperature dependent nonradiative energy transfer dynamics. This new finding provides the ability to design hybrid light-emitting diodes that show an order of magnitude enhanced external quantum efficiencies.

Light-harvesting action spectroscopy of single conjugated polymer nanowires

We study exciton migration in single molecular nanowires, dye-endcapped multichromophoric conjugated polymers, as a function of excitation energy. This approach reveals the actual molecular absorption properties, uncovering the molecules within an ensemble and the chromophores within a molecule which contribute to absorption at a given wavelength. As the excitation energy is raised, an increasing number of polymers exhibit energy transfer suggesting that, in contrast to the emission spectrum, the absorption of a single chain under energy transfer conditions can be very broad even at 5 K. At the same time, the polarization anisotropy in excitation decreases due to an increase in the number of noncolinear chromophores involved in absorption. Power and wavelength-dependent measurements clearly discern the exciton blockade effect that gives rise to strong fluctuations of energy transfer. Although the polymer and endcap constitute nominally discrete spectroscopic entities, we are able to identify a subtle influence of the primary backbone exciton energy on the ultimate endcap emission. This demonstration of interchromophoric cooperativity provides a direct realization of how nonradiative energy dissipation in one nanoscale unit influences the spectroscopy of another.