Second-order dispersion interactions in π-conjugated polymers

Singlet Triplet-Pair Production and Possible Singlet-Fission in Carotenoids

Internal conversion from the photoexcited state to a correlated singlet triplet-pair state is believed to be the precursor of singlet fission in carotenoids. We present numerical simulations of this process using a π-electron model that fully accounts for electron-electron interactions and electron-nuclear coupling. The time-evolution of the electrons is determined rigorously using the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method, while the nuclei are evolved via the Ehrenfest equations of motion. We apply this to zeaxanthin, a carotenoid chain with 18 fully conjugated carbon atoms. We show that the internal conversion of the primary photoexcited state, S₂, to the singlet triplet-pair state occurs adiabatically via an avoided crossing within ∼50 fs with a yield of ∼60%. We further discuss whether this singlet triplet-pair state will undergo exothermic versus endothermic intra- or interchain singlet fission.

The effect of electronic excitation on London dispersion

Atomic and molecular dispersion coefficients can now be calculated routinely using density-functional theory. In this work, we present the first determination of how electronic excitation affects molecular C6 London dispersion coefficients from the exchange-hole dipole moment (XDM) dispersion model. Excited states are typically found to have larger dispersion coefficients than the corresponding ground states, due to their more diffuse electron densities. A particular focus is both intramolecular and intermolecular charge-transfer excitations, which have high absorbance intensities and are important in organic dyes, light-emitting diodes, and photovoltaics. In these classes of molecules, the increase in C6 for the electron-accepting moiety is largely offset by a decrease in C6 for the electron-donating moiety. As a result, the change in dispersion energy for a chromophore interacting with neighbouring molecules in the condensed phase is minimal.