Thiessen, Alexander and Vogelsang, Jan and Adachi, Takuji and Steiner, Florian and Vanden Bout, David and Lupton, John M. (2013) Unraveling the chromophoric disorder of poly(3-hexylthiophene). PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 110 (38). E3550-E3556. ISSN 0027-8424,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The spectral breadth of conjugated polymers gives these materials a clear advantage over other molecular compounds for organic photovoltaic applications and is a key factor in recent efficiencies topping 10%. However, why do excitonic transitions, which are inherently narrow, lead to absorption over such a broad range of wavelengths in the first place? Using single-molecule spectroscopy, we address this fundamental question in a model material, poly(3-hexylthiophene). Narrow zero-phonon lines from single chromophores are found to scatter over 200 nm, an unprecedented inhomogeneous broadening that maps the ensemble. The giant red shift between solution and bulk films arises from energy transfer to the lowest-energy chromophores in collapsed polymer chains that adopt a highly ordered morphology. We propose that the extreme energetic disorder of chromophores is structural in origin. This structural disorder on the single-chromophore level may actually enable the high degree of polymer chain ordering found in bulk films: both structural order and disorder are crucial to materials physics in devices.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | SINGLE-MOLECULE SPECTROSCOPY; CONJUGATED POLYMER-MOLECULES; ENERGY-TRANSFER; SOLAR-CELLS; CHAIN CONFORMATION; CHARGE-TRANSPORT; POLYTHIOPHENE; MORPHOLOGY; FILMS; EMISSION; structure-property relations; conformational disorder; photophysics; organic solar cells |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 530 Physics |
| Divisions: | Physics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics > Chair Professor Lupton > Group John Lupton |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 31 Mar 2020 12:31 |
| Last Modified: | 31 Mar 2020 12:31 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/16027 |
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