Conversion between triplet pair states is controlled by molecular coupling in pentadithiophene thin films

In singlet fission (SF) the initially formed correlated triplet pair state, ¹(TT), may evolve toward independent triplet excitons or higher spin states of the (TT) species. The latter result is often considered undesirable from a light harvesting perspective but may be attractive for quantum information sciences (QIS) applications, as the final exciton pair can be spin-entangled and magnetically active with relatively long room temperature decoherence times. In this study we use ultrafast transient absorption (TA) and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TR-EPR) spectroscopy to monitor SF and triplet pair evolution in a series of alkyl silyl-functionalized pentadithiophene (PDT) thin films designed with systematically varying pairwise and long-range molecular interactions between PDT chromophores. The lifetime of the (TT) species varies from 40 ns to 1.5 μs, the latter of which is associated with extremely weak intermolecular coupling, sharp optical spectroscopic features, and complex TR-EPR spectra that are composed of a mixture of triplet and quintet-like features. On the other hand, more tightly coupled films produce broader transient optical spectra but simpler TR-EPR spectra consistent with significant population in ⁵(TT)₀. These distinctions are rationalized through the role of exciton diffusion and predictions of TT state mixing with low exchange coupling J versus pure spin substate population with larger J. The connection between population evolution using electronic and spin spectroscopies enables assignments that provide a more detailed picture of triplet pair evolution than previously presented and provides critical guidance for designing molecular QIS systems based on light-induced spin coherence.

Pentadithiophene derivatives produce triplet pairs efficiently with secondary spin state evolution that depends on their unique intermolecular juxtapositions.     

Ketones as Molecular Co‐catalysts for Boosting Exciton‐Based Photocatalytic Molecular Oxygen Activation

Excitonic processes in semiconductors open up the possibility for pursuing photocatalytic organic synthesis. However, the insufficient spin relaxation and robust nonradiative decays in semiconductors place restrictions on both quantum yield and selectivity of these reactions. Herein, by taking polymeric carbon nitride (PCN)/acetone as a prototypical system, we propose that extrinsic aliphatic ketones can serve as molecular co‐catalysts for promoting spin‐flip transition and suppressing non‐radiative energy losses. Spectroscopic investigations indicate that hot excitons in PCN can be transferred to ketones, while triplet excitons in ketones can be transferred to PCN. As such, the PCN/ketone systems exhibit considerable triplet‐exciton accumulation and extended visible‐light response, leading to excellent performance in exciton‐based photocatalysis, such as singlet oxygen generation. This work provides a fundamental understanding of energy harvesting in semiconductor/molecule systems, and paves the way for optimizing exciton‐based photocatalysis via molecular co‐catalyst design.     

Photoexcited triplets of dyes in zeolitic nanostructured channels. A time resolved EPR study

Two dyes (4-nitrostilbene, NST and 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4'-nitrostilbene, DANS) included in zeolites with nanometric channels and different Si : Al ratios have been photoexcited and their triplet state studied by time resolved EPR (TR-EPR). This is the first time that a TR-EPR spectrum of photoexcited triplet states of dyes in zeolites has been observed. The zeolites used were ZSM-5 and mordenite, with either protons or lithium as charge compensating ions, and the aluminium-free porosil. The ZFS parameters and the polarized spin populations have been obtained, and compared with those obtained in glassy solutions and in the organic nanostructured matrix perhydrotriphenylene (PHTP). For (3)DANS in neutral solvents and in PHTP the dimethylamino group is pi conjugated, whereas only its acid form is detected in all the zeolites. In the latter the spectra of the radical cations formed by spontaneous oxidation have also been observed both by cw-EPR and TR-EPR, the last spectra being spin polarized in emission. The mobility of the triplets is discussed, taking into account the spin polarization of the radical cations indicating a strong radical-triplet interaction.     

Ketones as Molecular Co-catalysts for Boosting Exciton-Based Photocatalytic Molecular Oxygen Activation

Excitonic processes in semiconductors open up the possibility for pursuing photocatalytic organic synthesis. However, the insufficient spin relaxation and robust nonradiative decays in semiconductors place restrictions on both quantum yield and selectivity of these reactions. Herein, by taking polymeric carbon nitride (PCN)/acetone as a prototypical system, we propose that extrinsic aliphatic ketones can serve as molecular co-catalysts for promoting spin-flip transition and suppressing non-radiative energy losses. Spectroscopic investigations indicate that hot excitons in PCN can be transferred to ketones, while triplet excitons in ketones can be transferred to PCN. As such, the PCN/ketone systems exhibit considerable triplet-exciton accumulation and extended visible-light response, leading to excellent performance in exciton-based photocatalysis, such as singlet oxygen generation. This work provides a fundamental understanding of energy harvesting in semiconductor/molecule systems, and paves the way for optimizing exciton-based photocatalysis via molecular co-catalyst design.     

Theoretical investigation on reverse intersystem crossing from upper triplet to lowest singlet: A “hot exciton” path for blue fluorescent OLEDs

Nowadays, blue fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs) have attracted considerable attention from both academia and industry. According to spin statistics, electrical excitation results in the formation of ∼25% singlet excitons and ∼75% triplet excitons (signifying ~75% energy loss), which triggered wide-ranging efforts to harvest as many triplet excitons as possible. The materials that can convert triplet excitons into singlet excitons from the high-lying excited triplet states (referred as “hot exciton” channel) to realize high efficiency were reported, which can also efficaciously avoid the accumulation of triplet excitons in T₁ state. In this study, by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT, we have theoretically investigated the electronic and photophysical properties of 16 newly designed molecules with donor-bridge-acceptor framework to search for the blue FOLED materials exploiting the “hot exciton” path. Important properties, such as singlet-triplet energy gaps, absorption and emission parameters, and reverse intersystem crossing rates (k_RISC), of five target molecules were studied. The calculated results demonstrate that thiophene-diphenylamine (k_RISC up to 1.03 × 10⁸ seconds⁻¹) may have promising potential as blue FOLED materials by virtue of the “hot exciton” effect.     

Electron spin polarisation effects of ISC into a superposition of spin states: Triplet excitons in biphenyl-tetracyanobenzene 1:1 complex

The behaviour in a magnetic field of the spin polarisation of triplet excitons in biphenyl-tetracyanobenzene is accounted for by the generation of the triplet state into a superposition of spin states. The molecular conformation in the excited singlet state is discussed.     

Chromophore Multiplication To Enable Exciton Delocalization and Triplet Diffusion Following Singlet Fission in Tetrameric Pentacene

A tetrameric pentacene, PT , has been used to explore the effects of exciton delocalization on singlet fission (SF). For the first time, triplet decorrelation through intramolecular triplet diffusion was observed following SF. Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to examine different decorrelation mechanisms (triplet diffusion versus structural changes) for PT and its dimeric equivalent PD on the basis of the rate and activation barrier of the decorrelation step. Charge‐separation experiments using tetracyano‐p‐quinodimethane ( TCNQ ) to quench triplet excitons formed through SF demonstrate that enhanced intersystem crossing, that is, spin catalysis, is a widely underestimated obstacle to quantitative harvesting of the SF products. The importance of spatial separation of the decorrelated triplet states is emphasized, and independent proof that the decorrelated triplet pair state consists of two (T₁) states per molecule is provided.     

Temperature dependence of ESR lineshapes of triplet excitons in molecular pairs

The ESR lineshape of triplet excitons moving between two differently oriented molecules of a pair is calculated. Our model hamiltonian contains the electronic interaction matrix element for the coherent exciton transport, the Zeeman energy of the triplet spin in an external magnetic field, the fine structure of the differently oriented molecules, the phonons in the crystal which are described as a heat bath, and the microscopic interaction between excitons and phonons. For the naphthalene pair the lineshapes are discussed with respect to the temperature and a parameter characterizing the strength of the interaction between excitons and photons.     

Light‐Induced Porphyrin‐Based Spectroscopic Ruler for Nanometer Distance Measurements

We present a novel pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic ruler to test the performance of a recently developed spin‐labeling method based on the photoexcited triplet state (S=1). Four‐pulse electron double resonance (PELDOR) experiments are carried out on a series of helical peptides, labeled at the N‐terminal end with the porphyrin moiety, which can be excited to the triplet state, and with the nitroxide at various sequence positions, spanning distances in the range 1.8–8 nm. The PELDOR traces provide accurate distance measurements for all the ruler series, showing deep envelope modulations at frequencies varying in a progressive way according to the increasing distance between the spin labels. The upper limit is evaluated and found to be around 8 nm. The PELDOR‐derived distances are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. We demonstrate that high sensitivity is acquired using the triplet state as a spin label by comparison with Cu(II)–porphyrin analogues. The new labeling approach has a high potential for measuring nanometer distances in more complex biological systems due to the properties of the porphyrin triplet state.     

Time-resolved EPR investigation on the photoreactions of vitamin K with antioxidant vitamins in micelle systems

The photochemical reactions of vitamin K (VK) with antioxidant vitamins (vitamin E (VE) and vitamin C (VC)) in aqueous hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and Triton X-100 micelle systems, and in an aerosol OT (AOT) reversed micelle system were investigated by a time-resolved EPR (TR-EPR). The photolysis of VK with VE in the aqueous micelle solutions gave the TR-EPR spectra having strong intensity and net emissive polarization, suggesting that the excited triplet state of VK (³VK^*) was rapidly quenched by VE coexisting inside the micelle. On the other hand, the photolysis of VK with VC in the aqueous SDS and CTAC micelle systems gave the spectra having weak intensity, showing that the reaction between ³VK^* and VC was inefficient in these micelle systems, probably because ³VK^* scarcely diffused out from the micelle. The photolysis of VK with VC in the AOT reversed micelle solution gave the spin-correlated radical pair CIDEP spectrum. The result suggests that the long-lived radical pair was generated from the reaction between ³VK^* and VC in the water/oil interface region of the AOT micelle, although one of the reactants dissolved in the oil phase and another did in the separated water phase.     

Free radicals and their electron spin relaxation in cellobiose. X-band and W-band ESR and electron spin echo studies

By use of 9.7 GHz and 94 GHz ESR spectra and electron spin echo (ESE)-detected spectra the six radical centres produced by γ-irradiation of cellobiose were identified. The radicals are localized on different carbon atoms. Use of high-frequency ESR spectra with computer resolution enhancement methods enabled unique radical identification and determination of g-factors and proton hyperfine splitting, A, with high accuracy. For radiation doses below 20 kGy three radicals dominate: on C₁ with isotropic doublet A = 1.8 mT; on C₂, C₃ and C₄ with triplet A = 2.9 mT; and localized on CH₂ with anisotropic triplet. For doses above 100 kGy the radical on C₁ dominates, because of cleavage of the glycosidic bonds. Electron spin–lattice relaxation shows that radiation damage of the cellulose structure around the radical centres is significant and radical molecules do not participate in phonon dynamics of the host lattice. The relaxation is because of tunnelling motions of the ring or OH-groups, with tunnelling splitting 2.4 cm⁻¹. Electron spin echo dephasing results identify cellobiose ring torsions with activation energy 117 cm⁻¹.     

Triplet Acceptors with a D-A Structure and Twisted Conformation for Efficient Organic Solar Cells

Triplet acceptors have been developed to construct high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs) as the long lifetime and diffusion range of triplet excitons may dissociate into free charges instead of net recombination when the energy levels of the lowest triplet state (T₁) are close to those of charge-transfer states (³CT). The current triplet acceptors were designed by introducing heavy atoms to enhance the intersystem crossing, limiting their applications. Herein, two twisted acceptors without heavy atoms, analogues of Y6, constructed with large π-conjugated core and D-A structure, were confirmed to be triplet materials, leading to high-performance OSCs. The mechanism of triplet excitons were investigated to show that the twisted and D-A structures result in large spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and small energy gap between the singlet and triplet states, and thus efficient intersystem crossing. Moreover, the energy level of T₁ is close to ³CT, facilitating the split of triplet exciton to free charges.     

Delayed-fluorescence ODMR and EPR studies of triplet excitons in charge-transfer molecular crystals

Triplet excitons in electron donor—acceptor charge-transfer (CT) molecular crystals are generated through the intersystem crossing process by excitation in the CT visible band and give rise to delayed fluorescence. Delayed-fluorescence optically detected magnetic resonance (DF ODMR) in magnetic field is analyzed in terms of microwave-induced transitions between energy levels of either the isolated triplet excitons or the annihilating triplet exciton pair. The spin polarization of the triplet excitons plays an important role in the described phenomena. A comparison between DF ODMR and EPR spectra of the anthracene—tetracyanobenzene and biphenyl—tetracyanobenzene systems is presented. In the former case the microwave transitions occurring between free exciton sublevels are predominantly responsible of the DF ODMR signal, whereas the transitions between energy levels of the exciton pair are the most important for biphenyl—TCNB.     

Novel excited quintet state in porphyrin: bis(quinoline-TEMPO)-yttrium-tetraphenylporphine complex

New mono- and bis[4-(3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-quinolinoyloxy)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl](meso-tetraphenylporphyrinato)yttrium(III) complexes have been synthesized, and the properties of the excited states generated by photoexcitation of porphyrin were studied by time-resolved (TR) and pulsed two-dimensional electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. A TR-EPR spectrum was observed in the quartet (S=3/2) or quintet (S=2) states generated from interactions of one or two radicals with the photoexcited triplet state of the porphyrin. The zero-field splitting D values of these states were analyzed in terms of those of the triplet and the radical-triplet pair. The spin states of the excited states were definitely assigned by measuring the mutation frequencies with pulsed EPR.     

Triplet Acceptors with a D‐A Structure and Twisted Conformation for Efficient Organic Solar Cells

Triplet acceptors have been developed to construct high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs) as the long lifetime and diffusion range of triplet excitons may dissociate into free charges instead of net recombination when the energy levels of the lowest triplet state (T₁) are close to those of charge‐transfer states (³CT). The current triplet acceptors were designed by introducing heavy atoms to enhance the intersystem crossing, limiting their applications. Herein, two twisted acceptors without heavy atoms, analogues of Y6, constructed with large π‐conjugated core and D‐A structure, were confirmed to be triplet materials, leading to high‐performance OSCs. The mechanism of triplet excitons were investigated to show that the twisted and D‐A structures result in large spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and small energy gap between the singlet and triplet states, and thus efficient intersystem crossing. Moreover, the energy level of T₁ is close to ³CT, facilitating the split of triplet exciton to free charges.     

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in an Organic Cocrystal: Narrowing the Singlet–Triplet Energy Gap via Charge Transfer

Harvesting non‐emissive spin‐triplet charge‐transfer (CT) excitons of organic semiconductors is fundamentally important for increasing the operation efficiency of future devices. Here we observe thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in a 1:2 CT cocrystal of trans‐1,2‐diphenylethylene (TSB) and 1,2,4,5‐tetracyanobenzene (TCNB). This cocrystal system is characterized by absorption spectroscopy, variable‐temperature steady‐state and time‐resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, and first‐principles calculations. These data reveal that intermolecular CT in cocrystal narrows the singlet–triplet energy gap and therefore facilitates reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) for TADF. These findings open up a new way for the future design and development of novel TADF materials.     

ESR and ENDOR of triplet states in the charge-transfer crystal naphthalene-tetracyanobenzene

The ENDOR spectrum of localized triplet states (X-traps) in napthalene-tetracyanobenzene crystals at 4.2 J has been analyzed. From the symmetry of the spin density distribution on the donor and acceptor, it is concluded that the chargetransfer state is distributed over one donor and two acceptors. Between 130 and 300 K, the ESR spectrum or mobile triplet excitons is measured.     

Intramolecular Spin Alignment within Mono‐Oxidized and Photoexcited Anthracene‐Based π Radicals as Prototypical Photomagnetic Molecular Devices: Relationships Between Electrochemical,Photophysical, and Photochemical Control Pathways

AnOV is a π‐conjugated radical built from an anthracene (An) unit linked by a p‐phenylene to an oxoverdazyl (OV) moiety. The mono‐oxidized (cationic) form of AnOV was generated both electrochemically and photochemically (in the presence of an electron acceptor). The triplet nature (S=1) of the electronic ground state of AnOV ⁺ was demonstrated by combining spectroelectrochemistry, electron‐spin resonance (ESR) experiments, and ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations. The intramolecular spin alignment (ISA) within AnOV ⁺ results from the ferromagnetic coupling (J_electrochem>0) of the two unpaired electrons located on the oxidized electron donor (An⁺) and on the pendant OV radical. The spin‐density distribution pattern of AnOV ⁺ is akin to that of AnOV when photopromoted ( AnOV *) to its high‐spin (HS) lowest excited quartet (S=3/2) state. This high‐spin state results from the ferromagnetic coupling (J_photophys>0) of the triplet locally excited state of An (³An*) with the doublet ground state of OV. As a shared salient feature, AnOV ⁺ and AnOV * (HS) show a spin delocalization within the domain of activated An in either An⁺ or ³An* (nexus states) forms. The present study essentially contributes to establish and clarify relationships between electrochemical, photophysical, and photochemical pathways to achieve ISA processes within AnOV . In particular, we discuss the impact of the spin polarization of the unpaired electron of OV on electronic features of the An electron‐donating subunit. Close analysis of this polarizing interplay allows one to derive a novel functional paradigm to manipulate electron spins at the intramolecular level with light and under an external magnetic field. Indeed, two original functional elements are identified: light‐triggered donors of spin‐polarized electrons and spin‐selective electron acceptors, which are of potential interest for molecular spintronics.     

Triplet—triplet annihilation and exciton—exciton interactions

A theoretical discussion is presented on the nature of direct and indirect interactions between two triplet excitons. It is shown that the direct exciton interaction through the coulombic interaction of electrons is important when there is a large change in the polarizability of the molecule during its excitation. The indirect exciton—exciton interaction is mainly due to the exciton—phonon interaction arising from the variation in the D-shift term. It is independent of temperature and spin substate. It is attractive in nature for excitons of narrow band-width, and if the exciton—acoustic phonon coupling is inducing the indirect interaction, it falls as R⁻³. It is suggested that a kinematic theory of the triplet—triplet annihilation should incorporate the effects of such interactions.