What did the Scientists Discover?
Although singlet fission promises to boost device efficiencies, it is a complex process involving multiple steps. A loss incurred during any step would be detrimental to promised efficiency gains. Currently, few highly efficient singlet fission materials exist—a grand challenge is to develop structural rules that help guide the design and synthesis of new materials.
In our work, we show how chemical structure can be tailored to increase the efficiency of singlet fission in amorphous nanoparticles and films of a series of pentacene derivatives. By combining time-resolved spectroscopy and structural characterization, we show that bulky side chains inhibit the close approach of two molecules which suppresses an unfavorable aggregate packing arrangement responsible for losses in singlet fission.
Impact:
A current bottleneck in the practical implementation of singlet fission is a lack of efficient materials. Our work represents the first study that shows how chemical structure can be tailored to increase efficiency in singlet fission materials—an important step toward realizing more efficient, singlet-fission-enhanced optoelectronic devices.
Collaborators:
Pensack, RD, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University
Tilley, AJ, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Grieco, C, Department of Chemistry, Penn State University
Purdum, GE, Department of Chem & Biol Eng, Princeton University
Ostroumov, EE, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University
Granger, DB, Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky
Oblinsky, DG, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University
Dean, JC, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University
Doucette, GS, Department of Chemistry, Penn State University
Asbury, JB, Department of Chemistry, Penn State University
Loo, YL, Dept. of Chem & Biol Eng and Andlinger Ctr Energy & Environm, Princeton University
Seferos, DS, Dept. Chem Engn & Appl Chem and Dept of Chem, University of Toronto
Anthony, JE, Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky
Scholes, GD, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University
Publication citation:
Pensack, RD; Tilley, AJ; Grieco, C; Purdum, GE ; Ostroumov, EE; Granger, DB ; Oblinsky, DG ; Dean, JC ; Doucette, GS; Asbury, JB ; Loo, YL ; Seferos, DS ; Anthony, JE; Scholes, GD, "Striking the right balance of intermolecular coupling for high efficiency singlet fission." Chemical Science, 9(29), 6240-6259, DOI: 10.1039/c8sc00293b, August 7, 2018.
Funding:
Funding Agency | Grant Number |
---|---|
Princeton Center for Complex Materials, a MRSEC - NSF |
DMR 1420541 |
Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the U.S. Department of Energy |
DE-SC0015429 DE-SC0008120 |
NSF |
DMR 1627453 |
NIH/NIGMS via NSF award |
DMR-1332208 |
National Science Foundation |
CHE-1609974 |
National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) |
RGPAS 477794-2015 |
Postgraduate Scholarships Doctoral Program of NSERC |