New insights into the design of conjugated polymers for intramolecular singlet fission

Jiahua Hu, Ke Xu, Lei Shen, Qin Wu, Guiying He, Jie-Yu Wang, Jian Pei, Jianlong Xia () and Matthew Y. Sfeir ()
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Jiahua Hu: Wuhan University of Technology
Ke Xu: Wuhan University of Technology
Lei Shen: Wuhan University of Technology
Qin Wu: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Guiying He: Wuhan University of Technology
Jie-Yu Wang: Peking University
Jian Pei: Peking University
Jianlong Xia: Wuhan University of Technology
Matthew Y. Sfeir: Wuhan University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Singlet fission (SF), a multiple exciton generation process that generates two triplet excitons after the absorption of one photon, can potentially enable more efficient solar cell designs by harvesting energy normally lost as heat. While low-bandgap conjugated polymers are highly promising candidates for efficient SF-based solar cells, few polymer materials capable of SF have been reported because the SF process in polymer chains is poorly understood. Using transient spectroscopy, we demonstrate a new, highly efficient (triplet yield of 160–200%) isoindigo-based donor–acceptor polymer and show that the triplet pairs are directly emissive and exhibit a time-dependent energy evolution. Importantly, aggregation in poor solvents and in films significantly lowers the singlet energy, suppressing triplet formation because the energy conservation criterion is no longer met. These results suggest a new design rule for developing intramolecular SF capable low-bandgap conjugated polymers, whereby inter-chain interactions must be carefully engineered.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05389-w

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